


ESSENTIALS 
CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



S. Y, GILLAN 




Class 
Book 



■** ? > 


O O H— 




mw 


.a in 

— . 



CSFXRIGKT DEPOSm 



ESSENTIALS 



OF 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



UNITED STATES AND WISCONSIN 



BY 
S. Y. GILLAN 



S. Y. Gillan & Company 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 






Copyright, 19I7 

By 
S. Y. GILLAN 



fh 



-8I9I7 

0CI.A47699O 



*k* I 



PREFACE 

In these pages as much of the subject of civil govern- 
ment is presented as we may reasonably expect pupils in 
the public schools to master. No attempt has been made 
to write an exhaustive treatise, and unimportant matter 
has been omitted. 

It is assumed that pupils who use this book have some 
knowledge of United States history, and that they have 
formed the dictionary habit. Every new subject presents 
to the pupil a new set of terms; hence, if wisely taught, 
it will enlarge and enrich the stock of words at his com- 
mand. Care should be taken to have the pupils learn 
the meaning of all terms not already in his vocabulary. 
To illustrate, take the first few paragraphs on pages 11 
and 12. These words occur: promulgated, delegates, con- 
vention, assumed, league, judiciary, ratified, adopted, 
amendment, legalize, income, domestic tranquility, pos- 
terity, ordain, granted, vested. Most of these words are 
not familiar to the student, and he must learn their mean- 
ing; some of them are technical terms peculiar to the 
subject and others are words in general use but beyond 
the pupil's present vocabulary. The dictionary must be 
used by the student every day, and the teacher's insist- 
ence from the first that no word shall be passed whose 
meaning is not clearly understood will insure increased 
interest in the study as the subject unfolds. 

A book of the scope olrtfiis text should treat local 
government both in the city and in the country districts. 



4 PREFACE 

The chapter on the City of Milwaukee can be used by 
pupils in other cities as illustrative of the government 
of the larger cities of Wisconsin, and the teacher can 
indicate the points in which it differs from any particular 
city in which this text is used. 

Acknowledgment is due a number of prominent school 
men who read the proofs and made suggestions which 
have been incorporated in the text. The chapter on How 
to Run a Public Meeting is based on an article contributed 
to the Western Teacher by a thorough student of parlia- 
mentary practice, Principal G. M. Morrissey, of Chilton, 
Wisconsin. S. Y. G. 



ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL 
GOVERNMENT 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 

The Home is the simplest form of government. Obedi- 
ence to parents in order that all may live together in 
harmony is the basis of home government. 

The Village, Town or City includes many homes and 
the land around them. In such a unit some central author- 
ity is necessary so that no family shall interfere with the 
peace, comfort or safety of the community, also to pro- 
vide at public expense and care for certain conveniences, 
such as schools, water supply, sewers, sidewalks, streets, a 
fire department, etc., which are of use to all the people. 

Among primitive peoples some one man, recognized as 
a leader, lays down laws to be obeyed and settles disputes 
between individuals. In most civilized communities laws 
for a village, town or city are made by men elected by 
the people, and quarrels are settled by another set of men 
chosen by the people or appointed by those who are thus 
chosen. 

The State or Nation is the highest form of govern- 
ment, and is made up of all communities lying within 
its limits. The government of a state or nation decides 



6 ESSENTIALS OF 

what matters each village, town or city may manage for 
itself, and also makes general laws which apply to all 
the villages, towns, cities and other units of local gov- 
ernment within its limits. The officers of a state or na- 
tion have control of such public conveniences and insti- 
tutions as railways, canals, forest reserves, prisons, asylums, 
public education, postoffices, lighthouses, harbors and forts. 
They carry on business with other nations, maintain an 
army and navy, and control all matters pertaining to cur- 
rency and coinage. 

The words state and nation are synonymous. In the 
United States, however, the word state has a peculiar 
and restricted meaning. The powers ordinarily exercised 
by a state or nation are in this country divided between the 
governments of the several States on the one hand and 
the Federal government on the other. 

Democratic and Monarchical Government. A govern- 
ment, the responsible officers of which should be elected 
by the people would be called a democracy; but there are 
no such governments anywhere, except in very limited 
areas and for a few simple functions of government. The 
governments which are most nearly democratic are those 
of Switzerland, Great Britain (the kingdom, not the em- 
pire), and some of the state governments of the United 
States. A democracy in which the people rule through 
representatives whom they choose by vote is called a 
republic. 

A democracy is very different from a monarchy, where 
one man makes the laws and acts for the nation and the 
people have little voice in the government. Just as there 
are no pure democracies so also there are no absolute 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 7 

monarchies, for even those that are absolute in form and 
theory are in practice tempered by the fear of revolution. 

These two kinds of national government, differing 
widely in form, have been established for the same rea- 
sons, viz., to keep people from infringing on the rights 
of others, and because certain matters must be managed 
for the benefit of the group as a whole. In addition to 
these two legitimate reasons for the existence of govern- 
ments there is a third which is productive of much evil, 
viz., the selfish ambition of the governing classes in some 
countries, which leads them to look upon governments as 
existing primarily for the benefit of the rulers and of 
strong nations. But for this attitude of rulers and strong 
nations most of the expense for armies and navies could 
be saved. In monarchies where this view of the purpose 
of government .prevails, the ruling class is a hereditary 
nobility known as an aristocracy; in republics it is a 
wealthy class known as a plutocracy. In either case the 
community is heavily taxed, directly or indirectly, for the 
enrichment of the ruling class. 

In some States of the American Union, towns and 
school districts have a democratic form of government ; 
and all the state governments are representative democ- 
racies, that is, republics, in form, and most of them are 
so in fact. But our general government is very much 
like a limited monarchy and contains in its form nothing 
democratic except the method of choosing the two houses 
of the legislative department of the government. The 
election of the President has become popular, although 
the form adopted originally contemplated a different 
method. But the President when elected is practically a 



8 ESSENTIALS OF 

limited monarch entrusted with greater power than any 
European monarch, with the exception of the German 
Kaiser and the Sultan of Turkey. In all the adminis- 
trative branches of our Federal government, there is no 
trace of democracy. The officers from the lowest to the 
highest are appointed, not elected. These include all 
judges, postmasters, marshals, customs officers, etc., in 
all more than four hundred thousand officers. In the 
operation of all its functions our Federal government is 
similar to a monarchy, limited in some measure by laws 
made by a body called Congress, both branches of which 
are chosen by popular vote. 

An Empire is a group of nations or communities in- 
cluding a relatively strong one to which the others are 
subordinate and subject. The subject people included in 
an empire do not have all the rights and privileges that 
subjects or citizens in the dominant state possess. The 
ruler of an empire may be called by any name, as Em- 
peror, King, Consul, President, Sultan, etc. 

In this country we live under two governments, the 
State and the Federal. These differ in certain features 
that should be clearly understood. 

1. Nearly all the officers of the Federal government 
hold their positions by appointment, not by election. 
The only ones that are elected by the people are the mem- 
bers of the two houses of Congress, the President and the 
Vice-President, a total of only 537 that are chosen by the 
people. 

On the other hand, the officers who administer the 
State governments are nearly all elected by the people, and 
they aggregate a much larger number than the Federal 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT V 

officers. Governors, legislators, judges, sheriffs, mayors, 
aldermen, township officers, school directors, etc., are 
elected by the people. When, therefore, we say that in 
this country the people elect their own officers, we refer 
to the State governments, not to the Federal government. 1 

2. The State governments differ widely and funda- 
mentally in their nature from the Federal government. 
This difference is clearly stated by Mr. James Bryce as 
follows : 

"The powers vested in the States are all of them 
original and inherent powers. Hence they are prima facie 
unlimited, and if a question arises as to any particular 
power, it is presumed to be enjoyed by the State, unless 
it can be shown to have been taken away by the Federal 
Constitution; or, in other words, a State is not deemed 
to be subject to any restriction which the Constitution 
has not distinctly imposed. 

"The powers granted to the national government are 
delegated powers, enumerated in and defined by the in- 
strument [the Federal Constitution] which has created 
the Union. Hence the rule that when a question arises 
whether the national government possesses a particular 
power, proof must be given that the power w^as positively 
granted. If not granted, it is not possessed, because the 



1 The framers of the Federal Constitution, with very few excep- 
tions, distrusted the people, did not believe in popular government, 
and favored government by the minority. They framed a system 
as far removed from the popular type as it was possible to make 
it with any hope of having it adopted even by the small number 
of people at that time having the right of voting; the voters were 
the property holders — about one in thirty of the population. The 
people have only recently begun to change the Federal Constitution 
to the popular or democratic type. 



10 ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Union is an artificial creation whose government can do 
nothing but what the people have by the Constitution 
conferred. The presumption is therefore against the na- 
tional government in such a case, just as it is for the State 
in a like case. 

"That is to say, the authority of the State is an in- 
herent, not a delegated, authority. It has all the powers 
which any independent government can have, except such 
as it can be affirmatively shown to have stripped itself of, 
while the Federal government has only such powers as it 
can be affirmatively shown to have received." [From 
The American Commonwealth, Chapters XXVII and 
XXXVI.] 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the basis of home government? 

2. State two reasons why government is necessary. 

3. What is a state or nation? 

4. Define democracy, monarchy, republic, aristocracy and 
plutocracy. 

5. How many officers of our Federal government are there? 

6. How many of our Federal government officers are elected 
by the people? 

7. What is an empire? 

8. What are the two chief points of difference between our 
Federal government and our State governments? 

9. In this country we live under two governments; which is 
the more democratic? 



THE 
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 



Legislative Power 

We shall now examine the Constitution of the United 
States, the instrument which created our Federal govern- 
ment, to learn what its provisions are and how the gov- 
ernmental machinery operates. 

The Declaration of Independence was adopted and pro- 
mulgated at Philadelphia July 4, 1776, and signed August 
2 by the delegates to the Continental Congress, which was 
simply a convention representing the thirteen British 
Colonies south of Canada. It declared these Colonies to 
be free and independent States. It assumed charge of 
the Continental armies and of the foreign relations of 
the new States until it gave place to the Federal Con- 
gress (established by the Articles of Confederation among 
the States), which met in 1781. 

The Articles of Confederation formed a league, but 
not a government proper, since they did not provide for 
a Federal Executive or a Federal Judiciary, and their 
acts, to be binding, had to be ratified by the several States 
acting individually. 

In 1787. a Constitutional Convention prepared a Con- 
stitution, which was adopted by most of the States in the 
following year, and within about three years by all of 
them. The Constitution established a central govern- 

11 



12 ESSENTIALS OF 

ment for the United States, which went into effect in 
1789 among the States which had then ratified it. Seven- 
teen Amendments have been added to the Constitution, 
and the States have been increased to the number of forty- 
eight. 

The introductory paragraph of the Constitution, which 
states the purpose of that instrument, is called the 
Preamble. 

PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquility, provide for the common de- 
fense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the 
United States of America. 

Article I. Section 1. — All legislative powers 
herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the 
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Eepresentatives. 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

Section 2. — 1. The House of Eepresentatives 
shall be composed of members chosen every second 
year by the people of the several States, and the 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch 
of the State Legislature. 

By electors in each State are meant those who can vote. 
In some States there are many citizens who have the right 
to vote on certain subjects and for certain officers but 
who do not have the right to vote for members of the 
legislature. Each State in determining what class of its 
citizens may vote for the most numerous branch of its 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 13 

legislature determines who may vote for members of the 
House of Eepresentatives. These qualifications are not 
uniform in the several States. Some States require United 
States citizenship, some require a property qualification, 
others make requirements as to education; in some States 
women may vote. The laws of some of the southern States 
are so worded as to exclude most of the Xegroes from the 
suffrage. 2 

2. No person shall be a Eepresentative who shall 
not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, 
and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Eepresentatives and direct taxes shall be ap- 
portioned among the several States which may be 
included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, which shall be determined by add- 
ing to the whole number of free persons, including 
those bound to service for a term of years, and ex- 
cluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other 
persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 
within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they 
shall by law direct. 

"Three-fifths of all other persons" referred to the slaves 
of former days. Thus, if a State had 40,000 white peo- 
ple and 60,000 slaves, it was considered to have 76,000 
population for the purpose of enumeration. This was 



2 Louisiana requires property and educational qualifications, but 
exempts from these requirements all whose fathers were voters in 
1867 or previous to that date. This is called the "grandfather 
clause" and was designed to prevent Negroes from voting. 



14 ESSENTIALS OF 

changed by the Fourteenth Amendment, so that all per- 
sons except Indians not taxed are now included in ' the 
enumeration. 

In the first Congress of the United States there was 
one Kepresentative for each 30,000 of population. The 
ratio is changed each ten years. Congress determines each 
ten years how many members there shall be in the House 
of Eepresentatives. The total population is then divided 
by this number ; 'the quotient is called the ratio of repre- 
sentation. To each State whose population is not greater 
than this "ratio" one Kepresentative is assigned. 

The enumeration is called a census, and it now includes 
much more than a report of the number of people. Their 
age, sex and nationality are reported ; also facts concerning 
wealth, taxation, manufactures, agriculture, commerce, etc., 
are included. 

After the census of 1910 Congress decided that the 
number of Eepresentatives should be 433. Dividing the 
population of the United States by 433 gives a quotient 
of 212,407. This is called the ratio of representation. 
When a new State comes into the Union, its population is 
divided by the ratio of representation at the time, and the 
quotient indicates the number of Eepresentatives to which 
it is entitled; but whatever its population may be, each 
State has at least one Kepresentative. 3 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation 
from any State, the Executive Authority thereof 
shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 



3 Since 1910 Arizona and New Mexico were admitted, each with 
one Kepresentative, making the total number of members in the 
lower house 435. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 15 

5. The House of Kepresentatives shall choose 
their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the 
sole power of impeachment. 

The "Executive Authority" is the Governor of the 
State: he does not have authority to fill vacancies in the 
House, but merely to "issue writs of election/" that is, 
to announce that an election will be held. 

The office of the Speaker of the House of Kepresen- 
tatives 4 is a very important one, because he need recog- 
nize no one to speak before the House whom he does not 
wish to recognize. Formerly he had the appointment of 
all committees, but that rule has been changed. Because 
of the abuse of the great power formerly vested in the 
Speaker, the scope of his authority has been greatly cur- 
tailed. The House now elects its Standing Committees. 

THE SEXATE 

[Section 3.—1. The Senate of the United States 
shall be composed of two Senators from each State, 
chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years;] 5 
and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in 
consequence of the first election, they shall be di- 
vided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The 
seats of the Senators of the first class shall be va- 
cated at the expiration of the second year; of the 
second class, at the expiration of the fourth year; 
and of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth 
year ; so that one-third may be chosen every second 
year; [and if vacancies happen, by resignation or 



* The presiding officer of the House is called the ' ' Speaker, ' ; 
although he does very little speaking. He is the chairman of the 
House. 



16 ESSENTIALS OF 

otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of 
any State, the executive thereof may make tempo- 
rary appointments until the next meeting of the 
Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.] 5 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not 
have attained the age of thirty years, and been nine 
years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for 
which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall 
be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote 
unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, 
and also a President pro tempore in the absence of 
the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the 
office of President of the United States. 

When Senators from a new State are admitted to the 
Senate, they are assigned by lot, one to each of the two 
classes having the least number. Thus it might happen at 
the outset that one Senator would hold his office only two 
years, and the other only four years. Both Senators from 
a State do not go out of office at the same time. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try 
all impeachments. -When sitting for that purpose, 
they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the Chief 
Justice shall preside; and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not 
extend further than to removal from office and dis- 



5 These provisions are now obsolete. See the Seventeenth 
Amendment. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 17 

qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit, under the United States; but the 
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and sub- 
ject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punish- 
ment, according to law. 

The President," Vice-President, and other civil officers 
may be removed from office by impeachment. 6 

If a civil officer is thought to have committed treason, 
felony, or other high crime, the House appoints a com- 
mittee to try the case before the Senate. This process is 
called impeachment. President Andrew Johnson was im- 
peached in 1868, but lacked one vote of being convicted. 7 

ELECTION OF CONGRESSMEN 

Section Jf. — 1. The times, places, and manner of 
holding elections for Senators and Eepresentatives 
shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the 
places of choosing Senators. 



o Both Senators and Eepresentatives are Congressmen ; but in 
general usage the word ' ' Congressman ' ? is applied only to mem- 
bers of the lower. House. The first woman elected to Congress 
was Miss Jeannette Bankin, of Montana; she is called a " Con- 
gresswoman. ' ' 

" When President Johnson was tried there was no Vice-President, 
and at that time the presidential succession was Vice-President, 
President pro tern, of the Senate, Speaker of the House. Senator 
Wade, of Ohio, was President pro tern, of the Senate. The pro- 
priety of his participating in the trial was questioned, as he would 
become President in case of a conviction. It was argued that his 
participation as a member of the court to decide the case would 
be a violation of the spirit and intent of the Constitution. But 
he insisted on his legal right as a member of the Senate, took part 
in the trial, and voted for conviction. One more vote would have 
convicted President Johnson, and Senator Wade would have be- 
come President. 



18 ESSENTIALS OF 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in 
every year; and such meeting shall be on the first 
Monday in December, unless they shall by law ap- 
point a different day. 

Congress has fixed by law the time for electing Repre- 
sentatives. It is the first Tuesday after the first Monday 
in November of the even years. 8, 

A Representative's term of office and salary begin on 
the fourth of March following the election. But unless a 
special session is called Representatives do not participate 
in the making of laws for thirteen months after they are 
elected. This is a weakness in our form of government; 
it operates as a check on the will of the people. A party 
may remain in power more than a year after it has been 
repudiated by the people. In Great Britain the government 
responds much more quickly to the people's will; when a 
new Parliament is elected the members enter at once upon 
their official duties. 

Until recently, the time and manner in which the 
State Legislatures should elect United States Senators 
were prescribed in detail by a law of Congress, but that 
law is now void ; the Seventeenth Amendment, adopted in 
1913, provides for the election of Senators by popular vote. 



s When this law was passed, Congress exempted from its opera- 
tion those States in which the date of the election was fixed by 
the State constitution. In forty -six States, the time is now uniform 
as above noted; but in Vermont the election is held on the first 
Tuesday in September, and in Maine on the second Monday of 
September. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 19 

POWERS AND DUTIES COMMON TO BOTH HOUSES 

Section 5. — 1. Each House shall be the judge 
of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its 
own members; and a majority of each shall consti- 
tute a quorum to do business, but a smaller num- 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may be au- 
thorized to compel the attendance of absent mem- 
bers, in such manner and under such penalties as 
each House may provide. 

2. Each House may determine the rules of its 
proceedings, punish its members for disorderly be- 
havior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, ex- 
pel a member. 

3. Each House shall keep a journal of its pro- 
ceedings, and from time to time publish the same, 
excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, re- 
quire secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members 
of either House on any question shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither House, during the session of Con- 
gress, shall without the consent of the other, ad- 
journ for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two Houses shall be 
sitting. 

The power of each House to decide who may be seated 
as members is absolute, and is sometimes exercised arbi- 
trarily without any regard to facts, law or justice. A ma- 
jority may and sometimes does decide contested cases in 
favor of the contestant who did not receive a majority of 
the votes in his State or district, and from their decision 
there is no appeal. A majority vote is all that is necessary 
to exclude a member, that is, to decide that he shall not be 
admitted. 



20 ESSENTIALS OF 

If a member is expelled from either House, he may be 
re-elected and return to it. 

The journal of Congress is called the Congressional 
Record. It contains the names of Representatives and 
Senators, the members of the standing committees, and 
the speeches and proceedings of the day. It is printed daily 
during the session of Congress. 9 

These are the several methods of voting which are 
followed in Congress : 

(a) Viva voce vote. 

(b) Division of the House, the members rising 
to vote. 

(c) Counting by tellers. 

(d) By yeas and nays, given on a call of the 
roll. 

A call for the yeas and says is sometimes made by 
members who desire to consume time in order to block 
some matter of legislation. 10 Delaying legislation by such 
methods is called "filibusterins:." 



• 9 Not all the speeches printed in the Becord are actually de- 
livered. A weak, dull or tedious speaker may get " leave to 
print, ' ' or to " extend his remarks in the Becord. ' ' This saves 
the other members the discomfort of being bored, and enables the 
member thus shut off to send his "speech' ' in printed form to 
the folks at home. See the dictionary for the derivation of the 
word buncombe. 

10 In some South American countries the vote by yeas and nays 
is taken by use of an electric appliance, each member merely 
touching a button on his desk. The apparatus records the votes 
on a wall tablet. The vote of the whole body can thus be taken 
almost instantaneously. The method will probably soon become 
universal in legislative bodies; it saves time and prevents one 
method of " filibustering. ' ' In 1917, an electric voting apparatus 
was installed in the Wisconsin Assembly chamber; by means of 
it a vote can be taken and recorded in less than one minute. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 21 

Section 6. — 1. The Senators and Eepresentatives 
shall receive a compensation for their services, to 
be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases except 
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privi- 
leged from arrest during their attendance at the ses- 
sion of their respective Houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or de- 
bate in either House, they shall not be questioned 
in any other place. 

2. N~o Senator or Kepresentative shall, during 
the time for which he was elected, be appointed to 
any civil office under the authority of the United 
States which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been increased during such 
time; and no person holding any office under the 
United States shall be a member of either House 
during his continuance in office. 

The clause providing that members may not be arrested 
except in the cases specified was intended as a safeguard 
against possible detention from the sessions on fictitious 
charges made for political purposes. 

The pay of a Member of either House of Congress is 
$7,500.00 per annum and mileage at the rate of 20 cents 
a mile each way, coming and going by the usually traveled 
route between his home and Washington, for every session. 
In addition to this pay, he receives $125.00 per session for 
stationery, an office room in which to work, and $1,200 a 
year for a Secretary. He has the "franking privilege," or 
free use of the mails for official business. 

The Speaker and the President of the Senate receive 
each $12,000. a year. 



22 ESSENTIALS OE 

The various committees of Congress have special rooms 
for work, and are allowed to have clerks, whose salaries are 
paid by the Government. 

THE PASSING OF BILLS 

Section 7. — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall 
originate in the House of Representatives; but the 
Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as 
on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House 
of Eepresentatives and the Senate, shall, before it 
become a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if 
not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that 
House in which it shall have originated, who 'shall 
enter the objections at large on their journal, and 
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsidera- 
tion, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass 
the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, 
to the other House, by which it shall likewise be re- 
considered : and, if approved by two-thirds of that 
House, it shall become a law. But, in all such cases, 
the votes of both Houses shall be determined by 
veas and navs : and the names of the persons voting 
for and against the bill shall be entered on the jour- 
nal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not 
be returned by the President within ten days (Sun- 
davs excepted) after it shall have been presented to 
him, the same shall be a law in like manner a« if he 
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjourn- 
ment, prevent its return : in which case it shall not 

• be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the 
concurrence of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives may be necessary (except on a question of ad- 
journment) shall be presented to the President of 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 23 

the United States, and, before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disap- 
proved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of 
the Senate and House of Kepresentatives, according 
to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of 
a bill. 

Were it not for the provisions in Clause 3, a bill might- 
be passed without the signature of the President, under 
the guise of a "resolution," "order," or "vote." 

If the President receives a bill within less than ten 
days of adjournment, and does not return it; this is called 
a "pocket veto." The bill cannot become a law, and the 
President in order to defeat it does not have to assume the 
responsibility of vetoing it. 

NOTEWORTHY FACTS 

When the "Government of the United States was or- 
ganized, in 1789, it owned a single Territory, which it 
inherited from the old Confederation. This Territory did 
not then belong to any State, but to the Federal Govern- 
ment, The old Federal Congress of the Confederation had 
passed, in 1787, an "Ordinance" for the Government of 
this vast tract, which was known as The Northwest Terri- 
tory, or more formally as The Territory Northwest of the 
Ohio Eiver. This resrion extended from Pennsylvania to 
the Mississippi, and from the Ohio to the British posses- 
sions. 

This Ordinance was an important piece of legislation. 
Tt declarer! that the Government of the States to be made 
from this Territory shoulrl be republican in character; 11 



11 This was to prevent the establishment of a monarchy in any 
State. 



24 ESSENTIALS OF 

that the people should have religious liberty, and that 
slavery should never exist in the Territory. In it is this 
famous clause relative to education: "Religion, Morality 
and Knowledge being necessary to good Government and 
the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa- 
tion shall forever be encouraged." 

Women have full voting rights in the following States: 
Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, 
Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada and Montana. 12 

A Congress holds two regular sessions, a long one and 
a short one, and as many special sessions as the President 
may see fit to call. The long session begins in the odd 
year, and lasts usually until the next summer. The short 
session begins in December of the even year, and ends 
March 4th of the following year. 

For the purpose of electing Eepresentatives, the States 
that are entitled to more than one Eepresentative are 
divided into Congressional Districts. Sometimes these dis- 
tricts are very curious in shape. The dominant party often 
divides the State into districts in such a way as to have as 
many of its own representatives elected as possible. This 
scheme of practical politics is called gerrymandering. 

The Senate committees are decided upon in a caucus, 
or conference of the members of the controlling party, and 
are chosen by a vote of the Senate. 

The Senate regards itself as the more dignified of the 
two Houses. In the House, the amount of time that a 



12 In Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, N". Dakota, Indiana, Ohio 
and Rhode Island, they have partial suffrage, sometimes called 
" presidential suffrage " because they may vote for presidential 
electors. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 25 

member can have for the discussion of a bill is usually 
very short, but in the Senate the time is usually unlimited. 
On several occasions this privilege of a Senator has been 
taken advantage of by members in the minority, to prevent 
a vote, by "talking a bill to death,'* a species of filibustering. 
Since there was formerly no limit of time to the speech of a 
Senator, the opponents of a bill could take up the time in 
talking, so as to leave no time to vote on the measure be- 
fore adjournment. 13 But in 1917 a cloture rule was adopted 
by which it is now possible to shut off debate and thus pre- 
vent this form of filibustering. 

If a State by growth in population becomes entitled 
to an additional Representative before the State Legis- 
lature has had an opportunity to re-district the State, 
or if the Legislature should fail to re-district the State, so 
as to make a new district for the additional member, such 
Bepresentative is elected "at large/ 3 All the other Con- 
gressmen of the State are voted for. each by his own dis- 
trict : but the additional Congressman is chosen by a vote 
of the whole State. 

In "passing." a bill usually runs through the following 
course : 

fa) The bill is introduced into the House by a Eep- 
resentative. It is read by its title, and referred to 
the proper committee, who may report upon it favorably or 



13 On May 29, 19ns, Senator La Toilette, of Wisconsin, began 
speaking against a currencv "hill, and continued speakine for nine- 
teen hours. This was the longest speech ever made. He was re- 
lieved "hv Senator Stone, of Missouri, who spoke for about seven 
hours. Senator Gore, the Mind Senator from Oklahoma, followed 
for an hour when, supposing that Stone was in the room, he 
yielded. No one being present to continue the filibuster, the fight 
was lost. 



26 ESSENTIALS OF 

unfavorably, or not at all. No report is usually equivalent 
to "killing" the bill. 

(b) If the bill is reported to the House favorably 
from the committee, sufficient copies of it are printed to 
supply all the members. It is read first by its title, then in 
full; after which it may be debated and amended. It is 
then engrossed, and read again, and then passed. 

(c) It then goes to the Senate, for consideration; and, 
if passed by that body, comes back to the House to be 
enrolled. The bill is then signed by the Speaker and by 
the President of the Senate, and finally goes to the 
President. 

The same process applies to bills that originate in the 
Senate. Any bill may originate in either branch of Con- 
gress, except bills for raising money ; they must originate 
in the House of Representatives. 

(d) If a bill is passed by one house and amendments 
are made in the other house, it is then referred to a Con- 
ference Committee made up of members from each house. 
If the Conference Committee agrees on any of the amend- 
ments, it is then reported back to the two houses and this 
finally amended form is usually passed by both houses. 

The committee to which a bill is referred usually ex- 
amines it very closely to get the wording carefully stated. 
Important bills contain many sections and sometimes they 
contain innocent looking provisions that nullify the force 
of what the lawmakers intend. Such a provision is called 
a "joker" and is usually inserted by designing persons to 
make the law ineffective. 

Sometimes a wrong word or a misplaced punctuation 
mark may have this effect. In 1876 a tariff bill placed or\ 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 27 

the free list fruit-trees and certain other articles; but in- 
stead of "fruit-trees and — " the bill read "fruit, trees 
and — " This substitution of a comma for a hyphen re- 
sulted in the refunding of many thousands of dollars to 
importers of oranges, apples, etc., before the error was 
corrected. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Who established the Constitution? (See the Preamble, 
also Article VII.) 

2. In whom is the legislative power of the United States 
vested ? 

3. Define "elector," as used in Article I, Section 2, Clause 1. 

4. What are the qualifications of a voter in your State? 

5. What change was made in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, 
by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments? 

6. Explain how the ratio of representation is fixed, and how 
the number of Eepresentatives of a State can be determined. 

7. Explain, by the aid of a blackboard outline, what gerry- 
mandering is. 

8. Tell why the Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives is 
an important officer. 

9. What mig-ht happen if a State should refuse to. allow a 
certain class of its citizens to vote? (See the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment.) 

10. How long is it after a Eepresentative is elected before he 
takes his seat? • . 

11. Contrast the methods of filling: vacancies in the House and 
in the Senate. (There is a slight difference.) 

12. Why would it be unwise to give Congress the power to iix 
the place of electing Senators? 

13. Contrast the methods of electing Senators and Eepresenta- 
tives. 

14. Compare the qualifications requisite for Senators and Eep- 
resentatives as to age, citizenship, and inhabitancy. 

15. In which House is there no rule of cloture? 

16. What is meant by filibustering? 

17. When are Eepresentatives elected "at large"? 

18. What is the number by which the present Congress is 
designated? 14 Was its last session the long one or the short one? 

14 A Congress lasts for two years. All the Congresses have 
been numbered from the first "Congress of the United States," 
which met in 1789. 



28 ESSENTIALS OF 

19. What is the difference between a bill and a law? 

20. Outline the steps of an impeachment. 

21. Under what circumstances may there be a controversy as 
to the election of a Representative? How is it decided? (See 
the Constitution as to who is the judge of membership.) 

22. Define " quorum/ ' "majority," "plurality." 

23. Describe the different methods of voting in the House of 
Eepresentatives. 

24. Why is it proper that the Chief Justice should preside 
when the President is on trial of impeachment? 

25. Why should a Congressman not hold any civil office under 
the government? 

26. 'Describe the usual method of passing a bill. 

27. In what way may a bill pass without the signature of the 
President ? 

28. What is the difference between the vote of the Speaker 
and that of the President of the Senate? Has the latter any vote 
on a bill? When? Is he a member of the Senate? 15 



is When there is no Vice-President, the President of the Senate 
is a member of that body, and therefore he has a right to vote 
on any question and is not limited to casting the deciding vote in 
case of a tie. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 29 

THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 

Section 8. — 1. The Congress shall have power : 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the com- 
mon defense and general welfare of the United 
States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States ; 

Direct taxes are taxes on property according to its 
value. 16 Direct taxation is the method of taxation usually 
adopted by State, county, town, and city, for the raising of 
revenue. The Federal government is supported chiefly by 
indirect taxation. 

Indirect taxes are those levied on the importation, 
manufacture, or sale of articles. The revenues of the 
United States amount to more than a billion dollars a 
year; this is collected from duties on goods imported into 
this country, from the internal revenue tax, or excises on 
the manufacture and sale of tobacco, spirits, and fermented 
liquors, and from taxes on incomes. 17 

The United States Government borrows money by is- 
suing bonds, which are promissory notes, usually running 
many years, and bearing a low rate of interest. 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations 
and among the several States, and with the Indian 
tribes ; 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, 
and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies 
throughout the United States; 

is The poll tax and the income tax are also forms of direct 
taxation. 

17 Beginning with 1917 the expenses of the government will be 
vastly greater than a billion a year on account of the cost of the 
war with Germany. 



30 ESSENTIALS OF 

Under the head of regulating commerce among the 
States, Congress has created an important Commission, 
which is called the Interstate Commerce Commission. It 
consists of seven members, appointed by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate. Its duty is to correct abuses 
which arise when railroads or other "common carriers' 7 
discriminate between various States or sections of the 
country. By charging higher freight rates to some pa- 
trons than to others, or by giving rebates to favored parties, 
great injustice has been done, and serious commercial re- 
sults have followed. 

Some of the things which this Commission may pre- 
vent are : The owning of coal land by railroads ; rebating, 
that is, paying back to certain favored shippers a part of 
what they have paid for freight; combining to increase 
or maintain rates of freight or passenger fares. The Com- 
mission can also compel railroads^ to use safety appliances 
on their cars and to report accidents. 

The constitutional authority for spending money from 
the Federal treasury for building light-houses, dredging 
rivers and harbors, building breakwaters, etc., is found in 
this clause empowering the Congress to regulate com- 
merce. 

A person not born in this country may become a citi- 
zen thereof in the following manner : 

(a) He goes before the proper court, and declares his 
intention to become a citizen. 18 



is The fee for naturalization is five dollars. By a recent change 
in the law the applicant must be able to write his own language 
and read and speak English. Only persons of the Caucasian or 
of the African race can become naturalized. 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 31 

(a) At least two years after this declaration, and 
after at least five years' residence in the United States, 
and one year's residence in his State or Territory, he takes 
the second step, swearing in open court to support the 
Constitution of the United States, and renouncing alle- 
giance to any foreign power. 

The present national bankruptcy law T was passed in 
1898, and was amended in 1903. Under its provisions a 
debtor, having surrendered all his property to his creditors, 
is enabled to start in business again without fear of having 
what he may accumulate seized for a former debt. 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof and 
of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and 
measures ; 

The paper money of the United States consists of 
national bank notes, gold and silver certificates, and treas- 
ury notes (called "greenbacks"). The coins are the gold 
double eagle ($20), half eagle, and quarter eagle; the sil- 
ver dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar and dime; the nickel 
five cents and the bronze one cent. 19 

The standard pound is the Troy pound, and its model 
is kept in the Philadelphia mint. The use of the metric 
system is permitted in the government departments, but it 
is not compulsory. 20 



!9 The following pieces were once common, but are no longer 
coined: Gold dollar and three dollars; silver twenty cent, five 
cent and three cent pieces; nickel three cent and one cent, and 
copper two cent, one cent and half cent pieces. 

20 The metric system is used in the mint for measuring coins. 
Lay five nickels in a row, edge to edge, and with a meter stick 
measure the length of the row. 



32 ESSENTIALS OF 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the securities and current coin of the United 
States ; 

7. To establish postoffices and post roads ; 

8. To promote the progress of science and use- 
ful arts by securing for limited times, to authors 
and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries ; 

The laws for the punishment of counterfeiting apply to 
the passing of counterfeit money as well as to the mak- 
ing of it. 

The United States government does not usually build 
its own "post roads," but uses such means for transport- 
ing the mail as are in existence — stage routes, railways, 
and steamship lines. Any road over which mail is carried 
is a post road. 

The following are some of the steps in the improve- 
ment of the postoffice : Postage^stamps, stamped envelopes, 
registered letters, money orders, free delivery, railway post- 
offices, special delivery, return cards, rural delivery, postal 
savings banks, and the parcel post. Nearly all of these 
are developments of the past half-century. 

Patents are granted for seventeen years; copyrights, 
for twenty-eight years, with a possible renewal of twenty- 
eight years. In the United States, from 7,000 to 10,000 
books are copyrighted annually. Patent number one mil- 
lion was granted in the year 1911. 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Su- 
preme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas, and offenses against the 
law of nations; 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 33 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on 
land and water ; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appro- 
priation of money to that use shall be for a longer 
term than two years ; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regu- 
lation of the land and naval forces ; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to 
execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec- 
tions, and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disci- 
plining the militia, and for governing such part of 
them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively 
the appointment of the officers, and the authority of 
training the militia according to the discipline pre- 
scribed by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten 
miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States and the acceptance of Congress, become the 
seat of the government of the United States; and to 
exercise like authority over all places purchased, by 
the consent of >the Legislature of the State in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful 
buildings; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing- 
powers, and all other powers vested by this Consti- 
tution in the government of the United States, or 
in any department or officer thereof. 

The tribunals referred to in Clause 9 are treated in 
Article III. 



34 ESSENTIALS OE 

For the United States, the Great Lakes and the ocean 
beyond a limit of three miles from low water mark are 
high seas. 

In modern times declaration of war in the sense of a 
formal decision to wage war is very seldom made. "Strained 
relations" lead to hostile acts and then the nations con- 
cerned assume a state of war to exist. 

If a private individual should desire to fit out a ship 
to prey upon a public enemy, he must obtain letters of 
marque and reprisal. Otherwise, if captured, he will be 
considered a pirate. This method of warfare is very sel- 
dom used in modern times, but is generally regarded with 
disfavor as merely a form of legalized piracy. 21 

The organized militia is a body of citizens enrolled 
for military training under the laws of a State. "Unlike 
the regular soldiers of the standing army, the members of 
the militia receive only occasional training, and are not 
called into active service as soldiers unless upon some ex- 
traordinary occasion. Strictly the term militia as used in 
this clause includes all able bodied citizens from the age 
of eighteen to forty-five. 

In time of war, troops are raised by 

(a) The voluntary enlistment of regular soldiers and 
seamen. 

(b) Enrolling the militia of the several States. 

(c) Drafting. During the Civil War, there was first 
a call for volunteers and later a draft, both in the North 
and in the South. 22 In the war with Germany our ffov- 



21 Most of the great civilized nations except the United States 
have abolished privateering'. 

22 Kentucky has the distinction of having furnished her full 
quota of men to both sides in the Civil War, and without a draft. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT OO 

eminent did not call for volunteer regiments, but employed 
the draft at the outset. Aside from the regular army and 
navy and the state militia all the forces were raised in this 
way, and these were known as the National Army. 

The District of Columbia is governed by Congress, 
through Commissioners, and the expenses of its local gov- 
ernment are shared by the inhabitants and by the General 
government. Inhabitants of the District do not vote. 

Clause 18 is sometimes called the flexible clause be- 
cause it is of such general application; but it does not 
give Congress power "to make all laws which may be nec- 
essary and proper" except for a specified purpose. The 
authority of Congress is limited to "'powers herein grant- 
ed." See Article I, Section 1, also Article IX of Amend- 
ments. Even in this "flexible clause" the fact is evident 
that the Federal government is a government of delegated 
and limited powers. 

NOTEWORTHY FACTS 

The bonded, interest-bearing debt of the United States 
is somewhat less than one billion dollars. The lowest 
interest on these bonds is two per cent, the highest four per 
cent. Some of these bonds have so many coupons attached 
to them that they are as large as an ordinary newspaper. 
A twenty-year bond paying quarterly interest has eighty 
coupons. If the face of the bond were $1,000, and the rate 
three per cent, each coupon would be worth $7.50. At the 
times when the interest becomes due the coupons are cut off 
and presented to the proper officer of the Treasury De- 
partment for payment. 



36 ESSENTIALS OP 

Under high tariff laws, the users of some imported 
articles have had to pay both an ad valorem and a specific 
duty. Thus under the Payne-Aldrich tariff, which was in 
force until October 4, 1913, a certain grade of blankets 
had a duty of twenty cents a pound, and thirty per cent 
ad valorem. This meant that, on these blankets thus im- 
ported to the United States, twenty cents a pound, and also 
thirty per cent of the price charged for them in the coun- 
try from which they were imported, was charged by our 
government for the privilege of bringing them into this 
country. The tariff is paid to the government by the im- 
porter ; he gets it back by adding the amount to the price 
of the goods when he sells them; the retail merchant hav- 
ing thus paid more must sell at a price high enough to 
cover this amount plus enough to compensate for the use 
of the extra amount thus required to carry the goods in 
stock. Therefore the tax is finally paid by the person 
who uses the goods. Because the tariff tax is thus shifted 
or passed on from one person to another until it reaches 
the consumer it is called an indirect tax. 

During the 50 years beginning with the Civil War 
tariff taxes were much higher than before that period. 

A tariff law is usually known by the name of the mem- 
ber who introduces the bill in Congress. Sometimes the 
name of the President or of a Senator who advocates the 
measure is added to the popular designation of the law. 
Thus in President Taft's administration we had the Payne- 
Aldrich law. In President Wilson's administration there 
was enacted a much lower tariff — the lowest for half a 
century — known as the Underwood tariff. Here is a list 
of common articles, with the rates as fixed by these two 1 
tariff laws: 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 37 

ARTICLE Payne-Aldrich. Underwood. 

Sugar 48 1 /o % Free 

Bread 25% Free 

Milk, gallon 2c Free 

Cream, gallon 5c Free 

Eggs, dozen 5c Free 

Butter, pound 6c 2 1 /oC 

Oatmeal, pound lc l/3c 

Flour, barrel 45c . Free 

Cheese, pound 6c 2^c 

Wheat, bushel 25c Free 

Potatoes, bushel 25c Free 

Cabbages 2c each Free 

Beets 25% 5% 

Apples, peaches, quinces, cherries, plums, 

pears, green or ripe, bushel 25c 10c 

Edible berries, quart lc %c 

Lemons, limes, grape-fruit, oranges, lb. . . .lc %c 

Molasses 48%c Free 

Bread, wafers 20% Free 

Buckwheat flour 25% Free 

Buckwheat, bushel 15c . Free 

Corn, bushel 15c Free 

Cornmeal. 100 pounds 40c Free 

Fish fresh water, pound ^4c Free 

Salt fish, pound Uc Free 

Mackerel, salmon, pound lc Free 

Lard, pound iy 2 c Free 

Fresh beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork 4c Free 

Prepared meats 25% Free 

Eice, pound 2c lc 

Honey, gallon 20c 10c 

Cranberries 25% 10% 

Salt. 100 pounds lie Free 

Cattle, each $3.75 Free 

Sheep, each 75c & $1 Free 

Swine, each $1.50 Free 

Poultry, pound 3c lc 

Raw wool 43.9% Free 

Wool Tarns 79.9% 18.9% 

Wool blankets 72.9% 30.9% 

Wool underwear 93.9% 35.7% 

Wool clothing 79% 35% 

Wool dress goods, for women and children . 99.7% 35% 

Cotton clothing 50% 30% 

Cotton table damask 40% 25% 

Cotton collars and cuffs 64% 30% 



38 ESSENTIALS OF 

ARTICLE Payne-Aldrich. Underwood. 

Cotton stockings 75% 40% 

Cotton underwear 60% 30% 

Brooms 40% 15% 

Coal, ton 45e Free 

Coke 20% Free 

An interesting decision was rendered by the Supreme 
Court in regard to the income tax which was passed by 
Congress in 1894. It was argued that when an income is 
derived from real estate, the tax becomes a tax on real es- 
tate, and is therefore a direct tax. At that time, any direct 
taxes for the Federal government were required by the Con- 
stitution to be apportioned among the States according to 
their population; on this ground the income tax was de- 
clared unconstitutional. The vote of the Supreme Court, 
however, was far from unanimous, standing five against 
the law to four for it. The Supreme Court has frequently 
reversed its own decisions, when the personnel of the Court 
has changed. 23 

The Federal income tax as first passed and in force 
until 1917 allowed an exemption of $3,000 for a single per- 
son and $4,000 for a married person. After these deduc- 
tions were allowed there was a graduated rate running 
from one per cent to seven per cent, according to the 
amount of the income. But the exemption limit was low- 
ered and the rate increased when the war with Germany 
began. 

United States treasury notes (commonly known as 

23 The power to declare a law void or unconstitutional is not ' 
given to any court* by the Constitution. The Supreme Court has 
simply assumed this power, and until recently there was but little 
disposition to challenge or question the right of the Supreme Court 
to do this. No other country permits its courts to exercise so 
great a power, and there is now a strong movement among the 
people of this country to curb the power of the courts. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 39 

"greenbacks"), the silver dollar, and all the gold coins of 
the United States, are unlimited legal tender. 24 The 
sibsidiary silver 25 coins are legal tender for $10.00, and 
the nickel and bronze pieces for 25 cents. 

Some facts in regard to naturalization : 

1. Citizens of the United States are not necessarily 
voters in their respective States, nor are the voters in 
their respective States necessarily citizens of the United 
States. 

2. "Wholesale" naturalization may occur when a new 
territory is annexed to the United States. 

3. A woman not a citizen becomes a citizen by marry- 
ing a citizen, and a woman citizen loses her citizenship 
by marrying an alien. If he becomes naturalized, she re- 
gains her citizenship. 

4. Persons not of the white or black races cannot be 
naturalized, but their children, if born in the United 
States and subject to their jurisdiction, are citizens thereof. 

5. Single women twenty- one years of age may also 
become citizens in the same way as men do. 26 

6. When a man becomes a citizen, his minor children 
become citizens cle facto. 

7. A naturalized citizen loses his citizenship by go- 
ing to reside permanently in a foreign country. 



24 That is, they may be legally offered at full face value in 
payment of debts. 

25 Coins of denominations lower than one dollar. 

26 A woman of foreign birth may become a voter sooner than a 
man may. In most States only a year's residence or less is re- 
quired for voting; hence a woman of foreign birth, who marries 
a citizen of the United States, can vote in any equal suffrage 
State as soon as she acquires a legal residence in the state, how- 
ever short the required period may be. 



40 ESSENTIALS OF 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Define direct and indirect tax, duty, impost, and excise. 

2. How does the United States government get its income, 
and from what sources? 

3. Explain how the United States government borrows money. 

4. Describe a government bond, and tell how many coupons 
a $1,000 thirty-year, four per cent semi-annual interest bond has. 

5. What is the difference between the way in which the 
United States government assesses direct and indirect taxes? 

6. Name some articles which you use on which there is an 
indirect tax. 

7. On what ground did the Supreme Court declare the in- 
come tax of 1894 unconstitutional? 

8. What is the work, and what is the importance of the In- 
terstate Commerce . Commission ? 

9. Why should the Federal government deal with the Indians 
on the reservations, rather than leave this to the States? 

10. Describe the general method of naturalization. 

11. Persons of what races may become naturalized? 

12. Name the different kinds of coin and paper money of the 
United States. 

13. On certain silver coins you may find the letters CC, on 
others O, and on others S. Those not thus marked are made at 
the mint in Philadelphia. What do the letters mean? 

14. Define yard and pound. 

15. What is a patent, a copyright, a caveat? 

16. Name some great improvements in our postal system since 
1800. 

LIMITATIONS OF THE POWER OF CONGRESS 

Section 9. — 1. The migration or importation of 
such persons as any of the States now existing shall 
think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the 
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hun- 
dred and eight ; but a tax or duty may be imposed on 
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 
shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of re- 
bellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law, shall 
be passed. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 41 

[i. Xo capitation or other direct tax shall be 
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumera- 
tion hereinbefore directed to be taken.] 27 

5. Xo tax or duty shall be laid on articles ex- 
ported from any State. 

6. Xo preference shall be given by any regula- 
tion of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State 
over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or 
from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties, in another. 

7. Xo money shall be drawn from the treasury 
but in consequence of appropriations made by law; 
and a regular statement and account of the receipts 
and expenditures of all public money shall be pub- 
lished from time to time. 

8. Xo title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States ; and no person holding any office of 
profit or trust under them shall, without the consent 
of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, 
office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

"Such persons" referred to the former slaves. The ten- 
dollar tax was never imposed. The "slave trade," that is, 
the importation of slaves, was prohibited at the earliest date 
permitted by the Constitution. 

If a person feels that he is unjustly imprisoned, he 
may apply to any court, either State or Federal, for a 
write of habeas corpus 28 and if the writ is granted, he is 
taken before the proper court, and the legality of his de- 



27 This section is now of no effect, having been annulled by 
the Sixteenth Amendment. 

28 Legal papers, or l ' writs, ?? were formerly written in Latin. 
They were many in number, and various in form. Gradually they 
came to have names. Each one was called by the Latin words 
with which it happened to begin. The writ which enables every 
person who is imprisoned to be taken before a judge, in order 



42 ESSENTIALS OF 

teiition is passed upon. This writ was intended to pre- 
vent unjust imprisonment. It has very seldom been sus- 
pended. 

LIMITATION OF THE POWERS OF STATES 

Section 10. — 1. No State shall enter into any 
treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of 
marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a 
tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attain- 
der, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obliga- 
tion of contracts ; or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, lay 'any imposts or duties on imports or 
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection law r s ; and the net produce 
of all duties and imposts laid by any State on im- 
ports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States, and all such laws shall be sub- 
ject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Con- 
gress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships 
of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement 
or compact with another State or with a foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded or 
in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

An ex post facto law" is a law the operation of which 
dates back to a time previous to its passage. The words 
literally mean "from after the deed." As applied to 
crimes, a law is ex post facto only when it increases the 
punishment of an offense, or when it makes an act crimi- 
nal which was not so when committed. 



that he may demand that it shall be shown why he is imprisoned, 
is called the writ of habeas corpus because, in its Latin form, 
it chanced to begin with these words, which signify, literally, ' l You 
may have the body. " 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 43 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. When was the importation of slaves forbidden by Congress? 

2. Tell of a possible case where the writ of habeas corpus 
would be applicable. 

3. May an American citizen accept a title from a king? 

4. What is a capitation tax? An indirect tax? 

5. What might occur in the United States were it not for 
Clause 3 of Section 10? 

6. What does it mean to " clear " or et enter " a port? 

7. Bead in your history about the "Boston Port Bill" and 
tell what relation you see between that and a certain clause in 
Section 9. 

8. What objection would there be to the President's receiving 
a title from some foreign government? 

9. Find that clause of the Constitution which limits Congress 
in the appropriation of money; which prohibits attainder for 
treason. 

10. Find that clause of the Constitution which prohibits the 
States from maintaining a standing army. 

11. Describe what would likely happen should the States in- 
dividually engage in those things prohibited in Section 10. 

12. If a man in a State which has capital punishment were 
sentenced to death, but before his execution the State should 
abolish the death penalty, would he be executed? 

13. If your State has inspection laws in regard to butter, milk, 
oils, salt, or other articles, tell by whom the inspection is made, 
and where. 

14. Discuss briefly the necessity for inspection laws. 

15. Did you ever see inspection tickets on freight cars, or on 
articles of food that come from other States? How do these 
tickets read? If you have never seen any of them, go to a gen- 
eral store and look about you. 

16. Is there any Constitutional bar against Michigan's taxing 
the importation of Minnesota lumber? Against Dakota 's taxing 
Canadian wheat? 

17. Suppose that a State has a law against the manufacture 
and sale of liquors; will this prevent persons of another State 
from shipping in liquor and selling it? Will there be any differ- 
ence in selling it in unbroken packages or in bulk? 

18. Could the United States pass a law preventing Massa- 
chusetts from exporting shoes? 

19. Wisconsin levies a higher license for deer hunters upon 
non-residents than upon citizens of Wisconsin. AVhat provision 
of the United State Constitution does this violate? 

20. What is meant by bankruptcy? 

21. Which one of the powers granted to Congress in Section 
8 has never been exercised? 



44 ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

22. Does Congress have authority to pass a law to provide for 
the punishment of counterfeiting railroad tickets? 

23. How does the establishment of the parcel post affect the 
express companies? Mail order department stores? Small mer- 
chants in country towns? The people generally? 

24. What is the militia? By whom organized and governed? 

25. Define piracy, felony, high seas. 

26. What is the meaning of the words marque and reprisal? 

27. There is a large city of the United States in which the 
people have no vote. Where is it? 



The Executive Power 



Article II, as changed by the Twelfth Amendment : 

Section 1. — The Executive power shall be vested 
in a President of the United States of America. He 
shall hold his office during the term of four years, 
and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the 
same term, be elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as 
the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of 
Electors equal to the whole number of Senators and 
Eepresentatives to which the State may be entitled 
in the Congress; but no Senator or Eepresentative, 
or person holding an office of trust or profit under 
the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. 

3. The Electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice- 
President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. They 
shall name in their ballots the persons voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice-President ; and they shall make distinct 
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President; and of the 
number of votes for each; which lists they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the 
government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate. The President of the Sen- 
ate shall, in presence of. the Senate and House of 
Eepresentatives, open all the certificates, and the 

45 



46 ESSENTIALS OF 

votes shall then be counted. The person having the 
greatest number of votes for President shall be the 
President,, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of Electors appointed ; and if no person have 
such majority, then, from the persons having the 
highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of 
those voted for as President, the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 
President. But, in choosing the President, the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from each 
State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two- 
thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of 
Representatives shall not choose a President, when- 
ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then 
the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the 
case of the death, or other constitutional disability, 
of the President. The person having the greatest 
number of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice- 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of Electors appointed ; and if no person have 
a majority, then, from the two highest numbers on 
the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President. 
A quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds 
of the whole number of Senators; and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 
But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

4. The Congress may determine the time of 
choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall 
give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 47 

111 most States the steps leading up to the election of 
the President of the United States are substantially as 
follows : 

The voters of each party in each Congressional dis- 
trict elect delegates to a district convention. Each dis- 
trict convention selects two delegates to the National 
Convention. Then a State Convention is held, composed 
of delegates from each county, elected by the voters of 
the party; the State Convention selects four delegates-at- 
large to the National Convention of the party, by which 
candidates for President and Vice-President are nominated. 

At the State Convention, Presidential Electors are nomi- 
nated, one from each Congressional district and two at 
large. 

The foregoing is known as the convention plan, and 
is still used in some States. The mode of procedure in 
the more progressive States is known as the direct primary 
plan. See index, under "Primary." 

The District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii and Porto 
Eico also send delegates to the National Conventions, al- 
though their people have no vote at the Presidential elec- 
tion. 29 

At the election, each voter may vote for all the Presi- 
dential Electors on his party ticket. Thus we do not vote 
directly for President. 

The general election occurs on the first Tuesday after 
the first Monday in November, and the Electors of the 
victorious party meet at the State capital on the second 



29 In the Republican convention the Philippines are also rep- 
resented. The Democratic convention excludes the Philippines on 
the ground that they are not a part of the United States, a view 
which is in accord with a decision of the Supreme Court. 



48 ESSENTIALS OF 

Monday in January, and cast their votes. Two of the three 
lists of votes by the Electors are sent to the President of 
the United States Senate, 30 and the third is deposited with 
the United States District Court in the Judicial district in 
which the Electors meet. On the second Wednesday in 
February the lists are opened in the presence of both Houses 
of Congress, and the vote is announced. 31 

5. N"o person except a natural-born citizen, or a 
citizen of the United States at the time of the adop- 
tion of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the of- 
fice of President ; neither shall any person be eligible 
to that office who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resi- 
dent within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from 
office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to dis- 
charge the powers and duties of the said office, the 
same shall devolve on the Vice-President ; and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of re- 
moval, death, resignation, or inability, both of the 
President and Vice-President, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President, and such officer shall 
act accordingly until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive 
for his services a compensation, which shall neither 
be increased nor diminished during the period for 

so One of these lists is sent by mail, and one is carried by a 
special messenger for greater security. Presidential Electors are 
paid by the various States, usually about three dollars a day and 
mileage. The one chosen as messenger is paid by the Federal 
government; he gets twenty cents a mile for the distance traveled. 

31 Note the language of the Constitution, "the votes shall then 
be counted. ' ' The writing of the verb in the passive voice, a 
grammatical form that does not designate the agent or doer of the 
action, led to a serious crisis in which we came dangerously near to 
a civil war. Eead in your history of the famous Hayes-Tilden 
controversy of 1876-7. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 49 

which he shall have been elected; and he shall not 
receive within that period any other emolument 
from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office,, 
he shall take the following oath or affirmation: — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States/' 

Congress has enacted that in case of the death, resig- 
nation, or disability of both the President and the Vice- 
President, the duties of the President shall devolve upon a 
member of the "Cabinet" until an election is held to fill 
the vacancy, but the officer on whom the presidential duties 
thus devolve does not become President. 

The order of succession is as follows : 

Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secre- 
tary of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General, Sec- 
retary of the Xavy, Secretary of the Interior. 32 

The salary of the President is $75,000 per annum, 
with $25,000 for traveling expenses; of the Vice-Presi- 
dent, $12,000. The President occupies the Executive 
Mansion, popularly known as the White House, which, 
together with the furniture, is provided at the expense 
of the Federal government. 

The oath of office is usually administered to the Presi- 
dent by the Chief Justice. The time is usually on In- 



32 The succession follows the order in which the various Cabinet 
officers were created. The Departments of Agriculture and of Com- 
merce and Labor were not in existence when this law was enacted. 
The meaningless but pronounceable word St. Wapni, made up of 
the initial letters of the departments, is a mnemonic key to the 
presidential succession. 



50 ESSENTIALS OE 

auguration Day, March 4th, and the place the east front of 
the Capitol. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Concerning the election of the President, 

(a) Explain how the Presidential Electors in most 
States are nominated and elected. 

(b) Where do these Electors meet, and how do they 
vote? 

(c) When, where, and by whom are the votes of the 
Electors read? 

2. In case of the death of both the President and the Vice- 
President, who would succeed to the office, and for how long a 
period? 

3. When are the Presidential Electors voted for? 

4. Explain why it sometimes happens that a presidential can- 
didate may receive a majority of the electoral vote and not a 
majority of the popular vote. 

5. State the salary of the President and that of the Vice- 
President. 

6. Give the substance of the oath of the President. By whom 
is it usually administered? 

7. State the qualifications required of the President as to 
age and citizenship. 

8. When does the house of Representatives elect the President? 
On such occasion how does the house vote? 

9. What is the meaning of the word emoluments? Is not the 
use of the White House an emolument? 

10. Why are the two words swear and affirm both given in the 
President's oath? 

11. Why is it assumed that in case of an election of President 
by the House there will be no deadlock or failure to elect a Vice- 
President by the Senate? 

12. Show how it might be possible for a man to elect himself 
President by his own vote. 

13. Alexander Hamilton was born in the West Indies; was he 
eligible to the office of President under the United States Con- 
stitution ? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 51 

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT 

Section 2. — 1. The President shall be Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the 
United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United 
States. He may require the opinion, in writing, of 
the principal officer in each of the Executive Depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices; and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided 
two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he 
shall nominate, and by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate shall appoint Ambassadors, other 
public Ministers, and Consuls, Judges of the Su- 
preme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States whose appointments are not herein otherwise 
provided for, and which shall be established by law ; 
but the Congress may by law vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers as they think proper in the 
President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads 
of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up nil 
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the 
Senate by granting commissions, which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. — He shall from time to time give to 
the Congress information of the state of the Union, 
and recommend to their consideration such measures 
as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, 
on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, 
or either of them, and, in case of disagreement be- 
tween them with respect to the time of adjournment, 
he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other 



52 ESSENTIALS OF 

public Ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the 

officers of the United States. 

Section J+. — The President, Vice-President, and 
all Civil officers of the United States, shall be re- 
moved from office on impeachment for and conviction 
of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde- 
meanors. 

Xo President has actually commanded the armies in 
the field, though the Constitution gives him the power to 
do so. 

The "Executive Departments" referred to are popularly 
called the President's Cabinet, but the word "Cabinet" 
nowhere occurs in the Constitution. 

Treaties are agreements between nations, and regulate 
matters that relate to the mutual surrendering of fugitives 
from justice, to boundaries, to war settlements, to com- 
merce, etc. 

Treaties are sometimes negotiated, that is, the terms 
agreed upon are drawn up in proper form by commissioners 
appointed for that purpose, but they are ratified by the 
Senate. 

In the early years of the Federal government, all ses- 
sions of the Senate were held in secret; but now they are 
open to the public, except when treaties or presidential ap- 
pointments are under consideration, that is. when the 
Senate is engaged in executive business. This has given 
rise to the popular error of calling any secret session of 
a legislature, council, board, club or other body an "ex- 
ecutive session." .This is a wrong use of terms. Whether 
a session of any deliberative body is executive or not de- 
pends on the character of the work done, not on the fact 
that it may be held with closed doors. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 53 

Ambassadors and Ministers have usually the larger 
duties and responsibilities, while Consuls are sent to the 
various cities of foreign countries to look after the com- 
mercial and other interests of American citizens. 

If the business to be transacted requires only that the 
Senate be in session, the President convenes the Senate 
only. In such sessions they can confirm or reject ap- 
pointments made by the President, concur in or reject 
treaties and, in general, perform executive work ; but when 
laws are to be enacted, both Houses are necessary. Within 
the past sixty years extraordinary sessions have been called 
in the administrations of Lincoln, Hayes, Cleveland, Mo 
Kinley, Taft and Wilson. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the difference between the regular army and the 
organized State militia ? 

2. What are the " written opinions " of the heads of the 
various Executive Departments called? 

3. State the difference between a reprieve and a pardon. 

4. What is a treaty? How is it made and confirmed? 

5. Outline the President's scope of appointments. 

6. What power has the President to convene and adjourn Con- 
gress ? 

7. What is a civil officer of the United States? 

8. Define high crime, bribery, and treason. 

9. To the head of which Department would you write if you 
desired information on any of the following: points? 

(a) The tax on distilled or fermented liauors? 

(b) The rights of Americans in the Philippines? 

(c) The wages of United States employes? 

(d) Governmental seed distribution? 

(e) The amount of unsold government land? 

(f) Conditions of admission to the Naval Academv? 

(g) The qualifications of railway mail clerks? 
fh) The forest reserves? 

(i) Information concerning; postal savings banks? 
10. Distinguish between an executive session and a secret ses* 
sion. 



54 ESSENTIALS OF 

NOTEWORTHY FACTS 

It sometimes happens that the electoral vote of a State 
is divided. When a very unpopular Elector is nominated 
and the vote is close, if he "runs behind his ticket," he 
may be defeated. Thus, in 1892, California gave eight 
votes to Cleveland and one to Harrison. 

In the Presidential contest of 1876, Samuel J. Tilden 
had 184 votes that were undisputed. Eutherford B. Hayes 
had 159 that were undisputed. It required 185 votes 
to elect. Owing to irregularities and contested returns, 
four States — Florida, Louisiana, Oregon and South Caro- 
lina — sent each two sets of lists as provided by the Twelfth 
Amendment, each purporting to be the correct and legal 
report. Each set of Electors in those States claimed to be 
legally elected, and had met and sent a list. The ma- 
jority of the Senate was at that time Eepublican, of the 
House, Democratic. 

Eead carefully the Twelfth Amendment and see what 
a difficult situation existed. "The votes shall then be 
counted" — but by whom? Which list should be counted? 

It was agreed to appoint an Electoral Commission, 
five from the Senate, three Eepublicans and two Demo- 
crats; five from the House, three Democrats and two Ee- 
publicans ; five from the Supreme Court, two Eepublicans, 
two Democrats, and one Independent, Judge David Davis. 
But before the Commission was appointed Davis was elect- 
ed Senator from Illinois, and so was regarded ineligible. 
The position was filled by the appointment of Judge Brad- 
ley, a Eepublican. The Commission by a strict party vote 
of 8 to 7 declared Eutherford B. Hayes elected. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 55 

In the Kepublican National Convention which met at 
St. Louis in 1896, there were 906 votes, of which William 
McKinley received 66iy 2 . A half-vote is explained by the 
fact that a State may send both a regular and a "bolting" 
delegation. If a State entitled to 50 votes in the con- 
vention appears with 100 contesting delegates, and the 
Credentials Committee does not care to seat either one set 
or the other, each of the 100 delegates is given half a vote. 

GENERAL EXERCISES AND REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

1. Name one thing which the House of Eepresentatives can 
do that the Senate cannot do. 

2. Name some power of the Senate that the House of Eep- 
resentatives does not have. 

3. Name some power held in common by both houses. 

4. What executive power has the Senate? 

5. What legislative power has the President? 

6. Name two things prohibited to the States. 

7. Name two things prohibited to Congress. 

8. What is the difference in meaning of the following words: 
minority, majority, plurality, quorum? 

9. Tell what you can about the House of Eepresentatives upon 
the following subjects: 

(a) Composition. 

(b) Election of! members. 

(c) Qualifications of members. 

(d) General power of the House. 

(e) Vacancies. 

10. Upon the same subjects, tell what you can about the Senate. 

11. Tell how the number of representatives is determined and 
what is now the ratio of representation. 

12. Name the different kinds of taxes, and tell how the Federal 
government collects its revenues. 

13. What is an alien? an Immigrant? How may an alien be- 
come a citizen? 

14. Tell what you can about the President's "Cabinet. " 

15. What are treaties, and how are they made? 

16. Explain the law of the Presidential succession. 

17. Explain the controversy that attended the Presidential 
election of 1876. 

18. Why was President Hayes sometimes referred to as Presi- 
dent de facto? 



56 ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

19. Legal tender means lawful offer. If a person should owe 
you twenty dollars and should offer you in payment any of the 
following, which ones would you have a legal right to refuse? 
Twenty silver dollars; a gold nugget weighing a pound; national 
bank bills; gold coins; subsidiary silver coins; a hundred bushels 
of good wheat; U. S. Treasury notes ("greenbacks") ; copper and 
nickel coins; a gold certificate; silver certificates. 

20. How long does a patent run? A copyright? 

21. Mention two methods of filibustering. 

22. Name the States in which the women have the full right of 
voting. 

23. What is a " pocket veto?" 

24. What is a post road? 

25. Distinguish between impeachment and conviction. In cases 
of impeachment what punishment may the Senate inflict? 

26. What is a treaty? Distinguish between the negotiation 
and the ratification of a treaty. 



The Judicial Power 



Article III. Section 1. — The Judicial Power 
of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme 
Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress 
may from time to time ordain and establish. The 
Judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, 
shall hold their offices during good behavior, and 
shall at stated times receive for their services a com- 
pensation, which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

The Supreme Court of the United States is the high- 
est court in the Federal government, and to it come those 

cases that are mentioned in this Article. The Supreme 
Court meets annually in Washington, and is composed 
of one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. 

For convenience, the whole United States is divided 
into nine circuits and about ninety districts. For each 
district there is a Di-trict Judge, and for each circuit one 
or more Circuit Judges. 33 in addition to the Supreme Jus- 
tices. Each Supreme Justice is required to hold court in 
the circuit to which he may be assigned, at least once in 
two years. 

In some cases three or more States constitute a dis- 
trict, while some of the populous States are divided into 
several districts each. 

Other courts have been organized by Congress, namely: 

33 In 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished, but the Circuit 
Judges are retained and sit in the Circuit Court of Appeals. 

57 



58 ESSENTIALS OF 

' A Circuit Court of Appeals, which is next below the 
Supreme Court; it was established to relieve the Supreme 
Court of some of the work. 

A Court of Claims, to assist Congress in the settlement 
of claims against the Government. 

A District Court for the District of Columbia ; and Ter- 
ritorial Courts for the Territories. 

Section 2. — 1. The Judicial power shall extend 
to all cases in law and equity arising under this Con- 
stitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; 
to all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Min- 
isters, and Consuls: to all cases of admiralty and 
maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the 
United States shall be a party ; to controversies be- 
tween two or more States, between a State and citi- 
zens of another State, 34 between citizens of different 
States, between citizens of the same State claiming 
lands under grants of different States, and between 
a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, 
citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting Ambassadors, other pub- 
lic Ministers, and Consuls, and those in which a 
State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before 
mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such ex- 
ceptions and under such regulations as the Congress 
shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of im- 
peachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be 
held in the State where the said crimes shall have 
been committed : but. when not committed within 
any State, the trial shall be at such place or places 
as the Congress may by law have directed. 



r 3 4 But see the Eleventh Amendment. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 59 

The power to hear a case appealed from a lower court 
is called appellate jurisdiction. The majority of cases 
tried in the Supreme Court have come up on appeal from 
lower courts. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme 
Court is confined to the two kinds of cases named in 
Clause II. 

When a crime is committed out of the jurisdiction of 
the United States, the accused. is tried in the district into 
which he is brought. 

Section 3. — 1. Treason against the United States 
shall consist only in levying war against them, or in 
adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and com- 
fort. Xo person shall be convicted of treason unless 
on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt 
act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the 
punishment of treason: but no attainder of treason 
shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

The punishment of treason is death, or a term of not 
less than five years in prison, $5,000 fine, and disqualifi- 
cation for holding office under the United States. There 
have never been any convictions for treason against the 
United States. Aaron Burr was tried on a charge of 
treason but acquitted. John Brown was convicted of 
treason against the State of Virginia. In this country 
treason can be committed only by acts: there is no such 
thing as treasonable speech. 

QIESTIOXS 

1. Give the names of the various courts of the United States, 
and tell two facts about the Supreme Court. 

2. Give an illustration of appellate and of original jurisdic- 
tion. 



60 ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

3. May the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court be in- 
creased during his term of office? May a Congressman's? 

4. Give a short account of the trial of Aaron Burr and of 
John Brown. 

5. In what kind of cases does the Supreme Court have original 
jurisdiction? 

6. Give five hypothetical cases that might arise under the laws 
of the United States under the following heads and state in which 
court the case would probably be tried: The Postoffice Depart- 
ment; the Great Lakes; John Doe, of New York, refuses to pay 
to Eichard Boe, of San Francisco, for goods, bought; ambassa- 
dors; State boundaries; Indians; internal revenue. 

7. Quote the section that prevents an individual from suing a 
state. 35 How, then, can an individual recover from a State? 

8. What is the distinction between a civil and a criminal 
action? 

9. What is meant by "corruption of blood" and " for- 
feiture"? 

10. Where else could a crime be committed than within a 
state? 

11. The Federal government imposes the death penalty for 
murder, but Wisconsin does not. What would be the punishment 
for murder committed on an Indian reservation within the boun- 
daries of Wisconsin? 

12. How does the provision regarding the salary of judges 
differ from that of other Federal officers and members of Con- 
gress ? 

13. What court is next lower than the Supreme Court, and why 
was it established? 

14. What is treason against the United States? State the 
definition carefully. Treason and citizenship are the only two 
things that are defined in this constitution. 

35 States may voluntarily permit any person to present a claim 
against them. The LTnited States government also does this. A 
claim against the United States may be presented in the "Court 
of Claims." 



Miscellaneous Provisions 



RECIPROCAL, RELATIONS OF THE STATES 

Article IV. Section 1. — Full faith and credit 
shall be given in each State to the public acts, rec- 
ords, and judicial proceedings of every other State ; 
and the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the 
manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings 
shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. — 1. The citizens of each State shall be 
entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens 
in the several States. 

• 2. A person charged in any State with treason, 
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice 
and be found in another State, shall, on demand of 
the executive authority of the State from which he 
fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State hav- 
ing jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State 
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, 
in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be 
discharged from such service or labor, but shall be 
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
service or labor may be due. 

Section 1 is necessary; there would be confusion, for 
example, if marriage in one State should not be valid in 
other States. 

A citizen going into another State can claim only the 
rights and privileges enjoyed by citizens of that State. 
A citizen of Illinois cannot lawfully claim that because 
he has the right to sell liquor in Illinois, therefore he has 
that right in Kansas. 

61 



62 ESSENTIALS OF 

A requisition is a request sent by the Governor of a 
State to the Governor of another State, to allow officers 
to remove a criminal who has taken refuge in the latter 
State. But the Governor may use his own discretion 
whether or not to deliver an accused person on the re- 
quest of another Governor, and in many cases Governors 
have refused to do so. Although the Constitution says 
they shall, yet since it provides no penalty for refusing, 
this comes under the general principle that a law with- 
out a penalty is void. This is therefore one of the pro- 
visions of the Constitution that is of no force whatever. 
Undoubtedly Congress would have authority to enact a 
law to make this provision effective, but such a law is 
not likely ever to be passed, for experience has shown that 
cases frequently arise in which it is proper for a Governor 
to refuse to deliver up an accused person fleeing from an- 
other State. 

As between foreign countries, a similar process is known 
as extradition, and is governed by the provisions of treaties. 

Clause 3 of Section 2 is now obsolete ; but around this 
Clause, as a center, gathered the storms of the later days 
of slavery. Congress tried to make this Clause effective 
by enacting the Fugitive Slave Laws, but the Northern 
States nullified it by passing Personal Liberty Laws, which 
granted the run-away slave a jury trial, and so strong 
was local public sentiment in those States that juries 
could not be found to decide in favor of the slave owner. 

STATES AND TERRITORIES 

Section 3. — 1. New States may be admitted by 
the Congress into this Union ; but no new State shall 
be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 63 

other State, nor any State be formed by the junction 
of two or more States, or parts of States, without 
the consent of the Legislatures of the States con- 
cerned, as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of 
and make all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing the territory, or other property, belonging to the 
United States; and nothing in this Constitution 
shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of 
the United States or of any particular State. 

Section .4. — The United States shall guarantee 
to every State in this Union a republican form of 
government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and, on application of the Legislature or of 
the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be 
convened), against domestic violence. 

It would be practically impossible to make a new State 
out of parts of other States without changing Clause 1 of 
Section 3. Three legislative bodies would not agree on 
such a proposition. 

The State of Texas may at any time be divided into not 
more than five States by the action of Texas alone, with- 
out the concurrence of Congress; this was provided for 
in the treaty of annexation by which theEepublic of Texas 
joined the Union as the State of Texas. 

As a war measure, West Virginia was made a State 
and admitted into the Union, its territory being taken 
from Virginia, with the consent of only that part of Vir- 
ginia which was opposed to withdrawing from the Union. 

In the time of the Eevolutionary War, the matter of 
public lands was in a confused condition. Nearly all the 
States had claims running far into the West, and these 
claims sometimes overlapped one another. These claims 



64 ESSENTIALS OF 

gave rise to many controversies, and almost led to war 
among the States; but, one by one, the States gave up 
their various claims, and all the country north of the Ohio 
to the British boundary became the property of the Fed- 
eral government. 

The General government has surveyed all the public 
lands of the United States. Certain Base Lines and Prin- 
cipal Meridians were established and townships were num- 
bered with respect to these. Thus the Congressional town- 
ship, six miles square, preceded even the pioneer, and de- 
termined to a great degree the boundaries of the political 
divisions of States. 36 

Although there is no express warrant for it in the 
Constitution, the government of the United States has 
greatly extended the sphere of its control, so that the citi- 
zen of today has to consider not only State and Territory, 
but subject peoples also. Our conquered subjects are not 
citizens. 

The additions of territory have been as follows : 

(a) Louisiana, purchased from France in 1803. 

(b) Florida, acquired from Spain in 1819. 

(c) Texas, an independent republic, annexed in 

1845. 

(d) California acquired from Mexico, by con- 

quest in 1848. 

(e) Gadsden Purchase, acquired from Mexico 

in 1853. 

(f) Oregon, acquired by exploration and ?oti:!e- 

ment in 1792, and confirmed by treaty 
in 1803 and 1846. 



36 The public lands of Texas belong to that State, not to the 
Federal government, hence there is no United States government 
survey there. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 65 

(g) Alaska, purchased from Eussia in 1867. 
(h) Hawaii, an independent republic, annexed 
in 1898. 

(i) Guam, Porto Eico, and the Philippine 
Islands, acquired by war with Spam in 
1898. 
(j) The Danish West Indies, or Virgin Islands, 
purchased from Denmark in 1917. 

The government of a Territory (Hawaii) is vested in 
a Governor and other administrative officers appointed by 
the President of the United States, who also appoints the 
judicial officers, — and in a Legislature of two Houses 
elected by the people of the Territory. 

The Territory is represented in the lower House of 
Congress by a Delegate, who may speak on various matters, 
but who has no right to vote. 

The subject peoples are governed by Congress, but 
are permitted to have some voice in their local affairs. 

In the Philippines, and in Porto Eico, the Legislature 
consists of two Houses; the Upper House appointed by 
the United States Government, and the Lower House 
elected by the people. Eesident Commissioners, two from 
the Philippines and one from Porto Eico, occupy about 
the same position at Washington as the Delegate from a 
Territory. The Governor and other officers of Alaska 
are appointed by the President. The Samoan Islands and 
Guam are governed entirely by the naval officer in com- 
mand at those stations. The Panama Canal Zone is gov- 
erned by the President through the Isthmian Canal Com- 
mission. Some of our smaller island possessions have no 
government whatever. 



66 ESSENTIALS OP 

Since 1902, Cuba has been an independent republic, 
under the protection of the United States to the extent 
that our Government may interfere to repress disorder. 

During the railroad strike of 1894 President Cleveland 
sent Federal troops to Chicago -without the request of the 
Governor of Illinois. His constitutional authority to do 
this was questioned, but his defense was that the move- 
ment of the United States mails and interstate commerce 
made it necessary. 

Aeticle V. — The Congress, whenever two-thirds 
of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall pro- 
pose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ap- 
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the sev- 
eral States, shall call a convention for proposing 
amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to 
all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, 
when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of 
the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths 
thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification 
may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no 
amendment which may be made prior to the year 
one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, 
without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate. 

Of the two means of proposing Amendments, by Con- 
gress or by a Constitutional Convention, only the first has 
been employed. 

The method of ratifying a proposed Amendment lias 
always been by a vote of the Legislatures of three-fourths 
of the States. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 67 

In nearly every session of Congress, amendments on 
various subjects are proposed; but so difficult a matter is 
it to change the Constitution, that Amendments have 
seldom been made. 37 

The first and fourth clauses referred to in Article V 
relate to taxation on the importation of slaves, and to the 
slave trade. 

Article VI. — 1. All debts contracted, and en- 
gagements entered into, before the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States, under this Constitution, as under the Con- 
federation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, 
and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
the authority of the United States, shall be the su- 
preme law of the land; and the Judges in every 
State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Con- 
stitution or laws of any State to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

3. The Senators and Kepresemtatives before 
mentioned, and the members of the several State 
Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers 
both of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this 
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be re- 
quired as a qualification to any office or public trust 
under the United States. 



37 It required nineteen years to secure the adoption of the 
Sixteenth Amendment, and twenty-four years for the Seventeenth. 
Being so difficult to amend the constitution is a curb on the will 
of the people and sometimes an obstruction to progress. It is 
believed by many that an amendment should be added, making 
the constitution much more easily amended. 



68 ESSENTIALS OF 

When a new government was created to succeed the old 
Confederation, in 1787, it would have been easy to re- 
pudiate the debts incurred during the preceding war; 
but the framers of the Constitution inserted Article VI, 
and thus promulgated the doctrine of public honesty. 

Article VII. — The ratification of the conven- 
tions of nine States shall be sufficient for the es- 
tablishment of this Constitution between the States 
so ratifying the same. 

Of the thirteen original States, Delaware was the first, 
and Ehode Island the last, to ratify the Constitution. 

The salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
is $15,000; of the Associate Justices, $14,500; of the Cir- 
cuit Judges, $7,000 ; of the District Judges, $6,000. 

Some small and trivial cases may come before the Su- 
preme Court. For example, if a servant or attache of an 
Ambassador at Washington should refuse to pay a bill for 
groceries there is no other Court in which he could be sued. 

If a crime is committed on Lake Michigan, the case 
may be tried in the proper court in Michigan, Illinois, 
Wisconsin, or Indiana. On Lake Michigan the States 
named have jurisdiction within their boundaries, which 
run through the lake. 

The most populous State in the Union is New York, 
which contains more than 10,000,000 people; the least 
populous is Nevada, which contains about 108,000, yet 
each has two United States Senators. This anomalous 
situation grew out of the fear that without such a check 
large states might become too powerful in the Federal gov- 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 69 

ernment. Its continuance is guaranteed by the only pro- 
vision of the Constitution that cannot be amended except 
by unanimous action of the States. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Illustrate by an example the meaning of Article IV, Sec- 
tion 2, Clause 1. 

2. Define and illustrate extradition, writ, requisition. 

3. What relations had Clause 3, Section 2, to the slavery con- 
troversy? 

4. What restrictions does the Constitution impose on the ad- 
mission of new States? 

5. What is the distinction between a State and a Territory? 

6. Give three of the most important additions to the territory 
of the United States since 1800. 

7. How does the area of the territory added compare with 
that of the original thirteen States? 

8. How is a Territory governed? The subject peoples? 

9. Describe the two ways in which amendments to the Consti- 
tution may be proposed ; the two methods of ratification of amend- 
ments. 

10. What is the significance of the prohibition in Article V, 
concerning amendments? 

11. What are the three classes of Supreme Law of the United 
States? 

12. Who are required to take an oath to support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States? 

13. What do you understand by a citizen of the United States, 
a citizen of a State, a voter, a resident, an inhabitant? 

14. The three departments of our government are said to be 
co-ordinate. What does the word co-ordinate mean? 

15. If the Legislative, Executive and Judicial departments are 
co-ordinate, how can the Supreme Court declare a law of Con- 
gress void? Does the Constitution give the court this power? 

16. In 1917, during the war with Germanv. it was proposed in 
Congress to establish a permanent congressional committee to su- 
pervise war expenditures. President Wilson pointed out a serious 
objection to the proposed plan, and the bill was not passed. What 
objection do you see to such a committee? 



Amendments 



Article I. — Congress shall make no law respect- 
ing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the 
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech or of the press, or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern- 
ment for a redress of grievances. 

Article II. — A well-regulated militia being 
necessary to the security of a free State, the right 
of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be in- 
fringed. 

Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, 
be quartered in any house without the consent of the 
owner; nor in time of war but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

Article IV. — The right of the people to be 
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, 
against unreasonable searches and seisures, shall 
not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but 
upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirma- 
tion, and particularly describing the place to be 
searched, and the person or things to be seized. 

Article V. — No person shall be held to answer 
for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on 
a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except 
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service, in time of war or 
public clanger; nor shall any person be subject, for 
the same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy of life 
or limb; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal 
case, to be a witness against himself; nor be de- 

70 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 71 

prived of life, liberty, or property, without due pro- 
cess of law ; nor shall private property be taken for 
public use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the 
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public 
trial by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which 
district shall have been previously ascertained by 
law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of 
the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him, to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance 
of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. — In suits at common law, where 
the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, 
the right of trial by jury, shall be preserved ; and no 
fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined 
in any court of the United States than according to 
the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be re- 
quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. — The enumeration in the Consti- 
tution of certain rights shall not be construed to 
deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. — The powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited 
by it to the States, are reserved to the States re- 
spectively, or to the people. 

Article XI. — The judicial power of the United 
States shall not be construed to extend to any suit 
in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by citizens of another State, 
or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

In 1793 a citizen of North Carolina brought suit in 
the Supreme Court against the State of Georgia. This 



72 ESSENTIALS OF 

offended the several States, so that the Eleventh Amend- 
ment was made to the Constitution in order to make it 
plain that no citizen may sue a State in a Federal Court. 

Article XII. — (See page 45.) 

When the Constitution was adopted, there were many 
who feared a strong central Government; and it was on 
account of this fear that the first ten amendments were 
adopted, in 1791. They are sometimes called the Bill 
of Eights, and they protect the individual against possi- 
ble abuses by the Federal government. In studying these 
amendments the student should keep in mind the fact 
that they are restrictions on the power of the Federal 
government only and not on the State governments. Thus, 
for example, there is nothing in these amendments to pro- 
hibit a State from establishing a religion, abridging the 
freedom of speech or of the press, or of assembly, or of 
petition; so far as these amendments are concerned a State 
might infringe the right to bear arms, issue warrants ar- 
bitrarily, try offenders without indictment by a grand 
jury, impose excessive fines, put an offender more than once 
in jeopardy of life or limb 38 for the same offense, inflict 
cruel punishment, etc. The Federal government is for- 
bidden to do these things ; it was assumed that the States 
would not do them because they have popular governments, 
but it was feared that the Federal government, being an 
appointive government, might; hence these amendments 



38 The expression "jeopardy of life or limb" is suggestive of 
an interesting historic fact. As late as the latter part of the 
Eighteenth Century, the laws of most countries provided for the 
punishment of crime by maiming the body. Courts were au- 
thorized to decree such punishments as the pillory, branding, 
boring or slitting the ears, etc. In one state the whipping post 
is still used in punishing some crimes. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 73 

were adopted as a safeguard against possible abuses by the 
Federal government. 

If a person is suspected of having committed an in- 
famous crime against the United States, the proper judge 
summons a grand jury 39 consisting of twenty-three men. 
They listen to the evidence presented; and, if at least 
twelve of the jury think that the evidence is strong enough 
to warrant an arrest, the person suspected is held for trial 
in the proper court. It will be noticed that a grand jury 
does not pronounce on the guilt of the accused, but merely 
on the question whether there is or is not evidence sufficient 
to warrant his being held for trial. 

Articles IX and X were added as an additional safe- 
guard against possible encroachment by the Federal gov- 
ernment on the rights of the States, or the people. 

Article XIII. — 1. Neither slavery nor involun- 
tary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation. 

Article XIV. — 1. All persons born or natural- 
ized in the United States, and subject to the juris- 
diction thereof, are citizens of the United States, 



39 In ancient days in England, there were, as now, two juries; 
a large jury to determine whether or not there should be a trial 
for an alleged offense, and a small jury (never more than twelve 
members) to hear the case, if there should be a trial, and to ren- 
der a judgment (verdict) upon it. 

The business of the courts was long conducted in the French 
language, after the Norman (French) Conquest of 1066, and 
thus French designations of the juries came into use. The French 
adjectives grand (meaning large) and petit (meaning small and 
pronounced petty) are used to describe the two juries to this day. 



74 ESSENTIALS OF 

and of the State wherein they reside. 40 No State 
shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

2. Eepresentatives shall be apportioned among 
the several States according to their respective num- 
bers, counting the whole number of persons in each 
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for the choice of Elect- 
ors for President and Vice-President of the United 
States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive 
and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of 
the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years 
of age and citizens of the United States, or in any 
way abridged, except for participation in rebellion 
or other crime, the basis of representation therein 
shall be reduced in the proportion which the number 
of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number 
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such 
State. 

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative 
in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
United States or under any State, who, having pre- 



40 This definition of citizenship is very' specific, and it would 
seem impossible to make any provision of a written constitution 
more definite; but this also is one of the dead portions of the con- 
stitution. It has been nullified by the los^c of historic events 
and no longer holds true. Since 1898 our Federal government has 
assumed imperial functions, holding conquered possessions and 
subject peoples. It is difficult in a brief statement to say who are 
citizens of the United States. The following covers the ground 
fairly well: 

All persons born within the continental territorial limits of 
the United States, except those born in buildings occupied by 
consuls or ambassadors of foreign governments, and whose par- 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 75 

viously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or 
as an officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State Legislature, or as an Executive or Judicial 
officer of any State, to support the Constitution of 
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrec- 
tion or rebellion against the same, or given aid or 
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, 
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such 
disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United 
States authorized by law, including debts incurred 
for payment of pensions and bounties for services in 
suppressing insurrection and rebellion, shall not be 
questioned. 

But neither the United States nor any State shall 
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid 
of insurrection or rebellion against the United 
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of 
any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims 
shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by 
appropriate legislation the provisions of this article. 

Article XV.-*-l. The right of citizens of the 
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged 
by the United States or by any State, on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation. 
The Thirteenth Amendment became effective in 1865; 

the Fourteenth, in 1868 ; and the Fifteenth, in 1870. 
Suppose that the male citizens of all classes in a State 

should number 100,000, and that the laws were so enforced 



ents are such foreign officials, also persons who are naturalized in 
the United States are citizens thereof; and the minor children of 
aliens, born abroad, become citizens of the United States on 
attaining their majority provided that their parents have been 
theretofore naturalized and that said children become residents 
of this country during their minority. 



76 ESSENTIALS OF 

against the voting of Negroes that they would be dis- 
franchised; then if the male Negro population was 50,000, 
Congress might reduce that State's representation in Con- 
gress by one-half. The same rule would apply in the case 
of a State that should restrict the right to vote by an ed- 
ucational qualification or a property qualification. (See 
the Fourteenth Amendment.) 

In many of the Southern States Negroes do not ex- 
ercise their full rights of suffrage; and in recent years 
bills have been proposed to reduce the representation of 
such States. But the majority in Congress, while acknowl- 
edging the presence of injustice in the franchise in the 
South, recognize, too, the menace of a large and ignorant 
Negro vote, and so prefer that the matter be slowly worked 
out by the Southern States, according to their own con- 
ditions. Some of the States have circumvented or nullified 
the provisions relating to suffrage by passing election laws 
so worded that they exclude ignorant Negroes from voting, 
but may allow ignorant white men to vote. 

By the Fourteenth Amendment, States became liable to 
lose representation if they deprived the Negro or the illit- 
erate, or the impecunious man of his vote. By the Fifteenth 
Amendment they are specifically prohibited from restrict- 
ing the suffrage on the basis of race, color or previous con- 
dition of servitude. 

Congress has, by the necessary two-thirds vote, removed 
all disabilities incurred under Section 3. 

Article XVI. — The Congress shall have power 
to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever 
source derived, without apportionment among the 
several States, and without regard to any census 
or enumeration. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 77 

Article XVII. — The Senate of the United 
States shall be composed of two Senators from each 
State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; 
and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors 
in each State shall have the qualifications requisite 
for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State Legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of 
any State in the Senate, the executive authority of 
such State shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies : provided, That the Legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make 
temporary appointments until the people fill the 
vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct. 

This Amendment shall not be so construed as to 
affect the election or term of any Senator chosen be- 
fore it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 

WAR POWERS 

When the nation is at war, the Federal government ex- 
ercises vastly greater powers than in times of peace. Our 
civil rights are then subordinate to the needs of the govern- 
ment in prosecuting the war. Even the freedom of speech 
and of the press may be curtailed in war time ; the right of 
habeas corpus may be suspended; persons under suspicion 
of hostility to the government may be deported, imprisoned 
or interned in detention camps. Aliens resident in this 
country but subject to an enemy government are closely 
watched and sometimes subjected to annoyance or even 
hardship. In extreme cases martial law may be proclaimed, 
and then the civil government is temporarily of no force or 
effect, for military regulations prevail. Food or any other 
property may be commandeered, that is, seized for govern- 
ment use. The production and the price of food and other 
necessaries may be subject to government control. 



78 ESSENTIALS OF 

The reason for exercising war powers is that public 
necessity requires it. When the life of the nation is at 
stake constitutional restrictions are lightly regarded, and 
the constitution may be broken in order to save it. It is 
not possible to provide in advance by constitutions and 
civil laws for the unusual conditions that the government 
must contend with while waging war. Intelligent and 
loyal citizens understand this, and endure without com- 
plaint in time of war many things which would not be 
permitted in time of peace. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the difference in time of adoption between the 
first amendments and the others? 

2. May a State have a State Church or an established religion? 

3. Before a Federal officer searches a house, what writ must 
he possess? 

4. Describe the procedure of a grand jury. 

5. Give an outline of the protection thrown about a person 
who has been arrested by the Federal government. 

6. Do the restrictions in the first ten Amendments apply to 
State governments? 

7. What is the significance of Articles IX and X? 

8. What specific things are aimed at in the Thirteenth, Four- 
teenth and Fifteenth Amendments? 

9. Suppose that a State should pass a law prohibiting citizens 
of Italian birth from voting, would it be constitutional? 

10. The State of Illinois has a law which infringes and re- 
stricts the right of the people to bear arms; in Wisconsin peo- 
ple are tried for infamous crimes without indictment or present- 
ment by a grand jury; in Delaware some offenders are whipped 
at the whipping post. Eead the Second and Fifth Amendments 
and explain these facts. 

11. State the two ways of proposing amendments, and the two 
ways of ratifying them. 

12. What amendments have been ratified bv the States since 
1910? 

13. How many of the original States were required to ratify 
the Constitution, in order that it might go into effect among 
those States? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 79 

14. By what authority did a President send troops to quell dis- 
order in a city, when the Governor of the State had not re- 
quested it? 

15. What provision of the Federal constitution can not be 
amended ! 

16. Among the causes of the Eevolutionary War you learned 
about " Writs of Assistance"; what were they? Which one of 
the Amendments safeguards the people against such writs if 
issued by the Federal government? 

17. May soldiers be quartered in a house without the consent 
of the owner? (Something more than "yes ;; or "no" is required 
to answer this question right.) 

18. When is the President elected by the House, and how do 
the members vote when electing a President? 

19. What presidents were elected by the House? 

20. Write a list of the things that Congress is forbidden to 
do but which States may do. To make the list complete a study 
of the first ten amendments is necessary. 

21. Write a list of the things that a State is forbidden to do 
but which Congress may do. 

22. Write a list of the things that neither Congress nor a 
State may do. 

23. Is the drafting of men for a National Army and sending 
them to foreign lands for service contrary to the Constitution? 

24. What were some of the extraordinary powers given to the 
President by Congress during our war with Germany? 



Civil Government of Wisconsin 



THE SCHOOL, DISTRICT 

You live in a School District, the people of which pay 
taxes to support the school in which you are taught. 

Except in cities, the people of the District meet every 
year, in July, and elect a Clerk, a Treasurer or a Director, 
who constitute the school board ; they hire the teachers and 
take care of the schoolhouse. 

The School District is the smallest unit of government 
with which you are connected ; but because you go to school, 
it is likely that it seems more real and important to you 
than the larger units with which you will become better ac- 
quainted as you grow older. 

THE TOWN 

When the General government caused the great North- 
west to be surveyed, it divided the land into squares, having 
each, as nearly as possible, six miles on a side. These di- 
visions are called townships. 41 A row of townships along a 
north-and-south line is called a range. A township may 
be designated as follows: "Township Seven north, Eange 
Four east," which means that it is the seventh township 
north of the base line and the fourth east of the principal 
meridian. 

For Wisconsin, the base line is the southern boundary 
of the State, and the principal meridian runs north from 

41 Specifically, they are called Congressional Townships, to 
distinguish them from the corporations known as townships in 
some States. 

80 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 81 

the mouth of the Illinois river to Lake Superior. The town- 
ship is thus seen to be a geographical unit, while a town/ 2 
which is a political unit, may include one or more town- 
ships, or less than a township. Townships are numbered. 
Towns bear names, such as Wauwatosa, Algoma, Granton, 
etc. The town government is almost a pure democracy ; for 
all the voters may meet once a year and elect their officers, 
and vote money for such things as are deemed necessary and 
for which the State law permits public money to be used. 
The Town officers are: 

1. A Clerk, who keeps the records of the Town. 

2. Three Supervisors, who look after town matters in 
general, and one of whom, the chairman, represents the 
people in the next higher and larger government unit, 
which is the County. 

3. A Treasurer, who collects the taxes and pays them 
out under the proper orders. 

4. A Town Assessor, who records in a book the value 
of each man's property. People pay part of their taxes in 
proportion to their property. 

5. Town constables, not more than three, who arrest 
those who break the law; and 

6. Two Justices of the Peace, who try those who are 
brought before them for violating the law, also civil cases 
involving claims not exceeding two hundred dollars. 

7. An Overseer of Highways for each road district. 

THE COUNTY 

The next higher political unit is the County, which 
varies in size from Ozaukee, the smallest, 226 square miles, 

42 These correspond to the divisions known in many of the 
States as Civil Townships. 
6 



82 ESSENTIALS OF 

to Marathon, the largest, 1532 square miles. If you should 
go to a county seat, you would likely have pointed out to 
you the county buildings, usually the court-house and jail. 
In the court-house the county officers have rooms in which 
they transact the business of the county. 

In the courtroom the Circuit Judge might be trying a 
case, and if you should wish to find out something about 
the finances of your school district, you would go to the 
County Clerk. The Eegister of Deeds has large books in 
which all deeds and mortgages are recorded, also a list of 
the marriages, births and deaths. 

Near to or in the court-house will be found the jail, in 
which the Sheriff confines those who have been tried and 
sentenced to imprisonment, also those who are awaiting 
trial, unless they have given bail. 

The County Treasurer keeps the money of the county 
and pays it out on proper warrants. 

The Coroner investigates cases of accidental death when 
there is suspicion of murder or of criminal negligence. 

The District Attorney is the legal adviser of the county 
officers, and he prosecutes offenders against the law. 

There is also a County Surveyor, whose work is indi- 
cated by the title of his office. 

The County Superintendent of Schools is elected for 
two years at the election in April. 

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 

The important governing board of the County is the 
Board of Supervisors, which meets annually in November ; 
it consists of the chairmen of the Town Supervisors, and 
also Supervisors from the villages and wards in cities. 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 8d 

In general it may be said that whatever is to be done in 
and for the county is authorized or directed by the County 
Board. They erect buildings and large bridges, determine 
the salary of county officers and levy taxes. Supervisors 
are paid $3.00 per day while in session, and six cents mile- 
age. 43 Their term of office is one year, except in the larger 
cities, where they hold for two years, 

CITIES AND VILLAGES 

When there are at least three hundred inhabitants in 
an area of one-half square mile, they may organize a village. 
When the population of a village increases to 1,500, the 
people may vote to become a city. Cities having more than 
150,000 population are of the first class; those that have 
more than 40,000, but less than 150,000, are of the second- 
class; from 10,000 to 40,000, of the third-class; and less 
than 10,000, of the fourth-class. 

The Legislature has passed many special laws relative to 
the various classes of cities, especially the one city of the 
first class; in general, all cities and villages have legislative, 
judicial, and executive powers. 

The law-making power of the village is vested in the 
village board, composed of the President and usually six 
trustees. In the city the power is vested in a Common 
Council composed of Aldermen, and the Mayor. 

The judicial power of a village or city is vested in 
justice, police, and special municipal courts. 



43 In Milwaukee County the salary is $1,200 a year for mem- 
bers, $1,500 for the chairman. 



84 ESSENTIALS OF 

The executive officer of the village is the President ; of 
the city, the Mayor. Acting under the direction of these 
executive officers, or under the laws of the village or city, 
are the Village Marshal and Constable, and the city police- 
men. In most cities, various Boards and Commissioners 
are also necessary to the administering of the law; among 
such are the Board of Public Works, Board of Educa- 
tion, 44 Board of Health and Tax Commissioner. 

Any city, except Milwaukee, may adopt what is known 
as the Commission form of government. Three Commis- 
sioners are elected, one every second year for a term of six 
years. One of these is designated as Mayor; these three 
Commissioners are given large legislative and adminis- 
trative powers, corresponding to the powers of Aldermen 
and heads of various Boards under the old plan. In cities 
of 10,000 and over they must devote their whole time to 
their official duties; they receive salaries ranging from 
$5,000 in the larger cities dowm to $400 in the smallest. 
The Commissioners select a City Clerk, a Corporation 
Counsel, a Comptroller, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of 
Streets, an Assessor and other officers. 

Although the law authorizing this form of government 
has been in force only a few years, several cities have voted 
to change to the new plan. The Commissioners are sub- 
ject to the recall on petition of voters; direct legislation by 
the voters, on initiative petition, is also provided for in the 
Commission plan. Without these safeguards it would be 
unwise to entrust a few men chosen for long terms with the 
great powers that are given to the Commissioners. 



4 4 In Milwaukee this board is called the Board of School Di- 
rectors. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 85 

QUESTIONS 

(These questions should be answered after interviewing) 
parents or school officers.) 

1. About how many people are there in your school district? 

2. How many children are there who "draw school money 1" 

3. How much school money did your district receive last year? 

4. About how much did it cost to conduct your school last 
year? 

5. What was the number of pupils enrolled, and what was 
the average attendance? 

6. On the basis of the average daily attendance, what did it 
cost per pupil to conduct the school? 

7. How far is it across your school district by the usual road? 

8. Who of the children have farthest to travel to reach the 
school? Who the shortest distance? 

9. How many months must the school be conducted in order 
to draw State money? 

10. Under what circumstances may a rural school draw an 
extra amount from the State fund? 

11. Give the names of the men who are your school officers, 
Clerk, Treasurer, Director. 

12. Do women vote at the Annual School Meeting? 

13. What is the name of the town in which you live? 

14. What is the number of the Township in which you live? 

15. What is the size of the Town, and how is it bounded? 

16. When is the Town meeting held? Who presides over it, 
and for what purposes are taxes usually voted at this meeting? 

17. Are women allowed to vote at Town Meetings? 

18. Where is the county seat of your county and what officers 
of the town go there to represent the town? 

19. Is there a good reason why your county seat is located 
where it is? 

20. What are the duties of the Town Treasurer? Who is the 
Treasurer of the town in which you live? 

21. What is meant by a pure democracy? 

22. Show on a map the location of the base line and of the 
principal meridian from which Wisconsin is surveyed. 



THE STATE 



THE LAW-MAKING POWER 

The legislative power of Wisconsin is vested in an As- 
sembly of one hundred members, and a Senate of thirty- 
three members. 

ELECTION AND COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS 

The maps which are given in the Blue Book show the 
size and population of the Assembly and Senate districts. 
The Legislature meets biennially at Madison, the capital, 
on the second AYednesclay in January, and usually con- 
tinues in session for four or five months. The salary of 
Legislators is $500 for each regular session ; and when the 
session is prolonged, it will be noticed that the compensa- 
tion per day is small. Since there is much business to be 
done, much of the work must be done by committees ap- 
pointed by the presiding officer. 

PASSING BILLS 

The draft of a proposed law is called a bill. When a 
member proposes a bill, it is usually referred to the proper 
committee; and, if they report favorably on it, the two 
Houses in turn vote on it. If it passes both Houses and 
the Governor signs it, it becomes a law. If he disapproves 
it, he sends it back to the House in which it originated, 
with his reasons for not signing it. This is called a veto. 
But if each House then gives a two-thirds majority for it, 
it becomes a law without the Governor's signature. 

86 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 87 

QUESTIONS OP LOCAL, INTEREST 

1. What is the name of your county seat, and who is your 
representative on the board of supervisors? 

2. Suppose that a county agricultural school is to be built; 
who determines how much taxes are to be raised? 

3. What is the title of the officer who has charge of the 
county money? 

4. Who has charge of the jail? What is an under-sheriff? 
A deputy? 

5. In whom is the legislative power of the town vested? 

6. What county officer have you seen? Name one of his 
duties. 

7. What authority determines the amount of his salary? 

8. What is a fee? What officer is paid by fees? 

9. Why is one officer paid by salary and another by fees? 

10. How large is your county, and how many men constitute 
its board of supervisors? 

11. Write to your county clerk, and ask him for a copy of the 
last report of the board. Give one fact} that you learn from 
studying this report. 

12. Give the names of the three largest cities or villages in 
your county. 

QUESTIONS ON THE LEGISLATURE 

(Article IV, Constitution of Wisconsin.) 

1. What is the least number of Legislators allowed by the 
Constitution? 

2. In dividing the State into Legislative districts, what lines 
are followed? 

3. How many Senators are elected at a time, and from which 
districts? 

4. What are the qualifications of Legislators? 

5. What prohibitions are there on the Legislature as to ex- 
pelling a member, and as to adjournment? 

6. By whom are special sessions of the Legislature called? 

7. What prohibitions are there on Legislators as to civil of- 
fices and offices under the United States? 

8. How are Legislative vacancies filled? 

9. What privileges have members of the Legislature? 

10. In what name are the laws of Wisconsin passed? 

11. Members of the Legislature and State officers are prohibited 
from using railroad passes in Wisconsin. Why? 

12. What prohibitions are there against Legislators as to sta- 
tionery, printing, or other perquisites? 

13. What is the substance of the oath of office? 

14. In elections by the Legislature, what is the manner of 
i 7 oting? 



88 ESSENTIALS OF 

THE LAW-ENFORCING POWER 

In so great a State as Wisconsin the enforcement of 
law is a very complex affair. At the head of the many offi- 
cers and boards required for the purpose, is the Governor 
or Chief Executive. He receives a salary of $5,000, and 
must be a citizen of the United States, and a qualified 
elector of the State. The Govornor maintains peace and 
order throughout the State, and appoints many officers and 
boards to assist him in enforcing the laws. 

Closely related to the Chief Executive are the admin- 
istrative officers, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Attor- 
ney General, also elected by the people for a term of two 
years. The Secretary of State supervises all fiscal matters, 
and publishes from time to time full accounts of the 
finances. The Treasurer takes charge of all money in the 
treasury, and pays it out according to law. The Attorney 
General represents the State in lawsuits in which the State 
is a party, and gives legal advice to State officers and legis- 
lators. In addition to the executive and administrative 
officers above mentioned, the people elect a State Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction whose term is four years ; 
he receives the same salary as the Governor. An Insurance 
Commissioner is appointed by the Governor. 

THE JUDICIAL, POWER 

In every town, village and city, except Milwaukee, there 
are courts called Justice Courts, before which persons are 
brought when charged with minor criminal acts, or when 
the amount in a lawsuit is not more than two hundred 
dollars. 

A criminal act is an act of crime, which violates the law 
of a State. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 89 

A civil case is a suit at law brought by one person 
against another, either for the recovery of damages or the 
establishment of a right. 

In each county there is a County Court with one County 
Judge (except in Milwaukee County, where there are two). 
The County Court is not a criminal court; it has jurisdic- 
tion over matters pertaining to wills, the settlement of 
estates, guardianship and commitment for insanity. In 
some States such a court is called the Probate Court, or the 
Orphans^ Court. 

The State is divided into twenty Judicial Circuits, over 
each of which presides a Circuit Judge, elected for a term 
of six years. 45 

The Circuit Court meets semi-annually, and has juris- 
diction in civil and criminal cases of greater importance 
than those begun in Justice Courts. 

The State Supreme Court is composed of seven Jus- 
tices, elected for ten years, and meets at the capital. 

When a suit is begun in a court, the court is said to 
have original jurisdiction in the case; and when it hears a 
case appealed from a lower court, it is said to have ap- 
pellate jurisdiction in that case. 

The higher courts, both State and Federal, devote most 
of their time to the hearing and determining of appealed 
cases. 

In cities and villages there are Police Courts, where 
offenses against the ordinances or city laws are tried; and 
also Municipal Courts, which have jurisdiction in civil and 



45 In the Second Judicial Circuit (Milwaukee County) there 
are six Circuit Judges. 



90 ESSENTIALS OF 

criminal cases, such as would ordinarily come before the 
Circuit Court. 

The jury summoned to try a case in the Justice or Cir- 
cuit Court is called a petit jury, and consists usually of 
twelve men; the unanimous verdict of the jury is necessary 
to convict the person on trial. 

Certain persons are exempt from service on a petit jury, 
among whom are United States, State and county officers, 
railroad employes, telegraph operators, ministers, teachers, 
lawyers, and, in general, persons whose work is such that it 
wpuld not be good public policy to have them absent 
from it. 

The procedure in a criminal case before the Circuit 
Court is somewhat as follows : 

1. A sworn complaint before a Justice of the Peace. 

2. The issuing of a warrant for arrest. 

3. The arrest. 

4. The offering of bail (if the offense is bailable). 

5. Pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" of the offense 
charged. 

6. The trial, with or without a jury. 

7. The verdict. 

8. Judgment. 

9. Perhaps an appeal, if the case is appealable. 

QUESTIONS 

(To be answered after reading Articles V and VI of the 
State Constitution. ) 

1. When would the Lieutenant-Governor become Governor? 
What other duty has he? 

2. What are the legal qualifications of Governor and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor ? 

3. Give three duties enumerated in Article V, Section 4. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 91 

4. What is the power of the Governor relative to pardons 
and reprieves? 

5. Who would be Chief Executive in case of the death or 
disability of both Governor and Lieutenant-Governor? 

QUESTIONS 

(To be answered after reading Article VII.) 

1. When the Governor is impeached, who conducts the trial, 
and where is he tried? [Eead Section I very carefully. The 
second line is printed correctly ; ask your teacher to explain how 
the error probably arose.] 

2. Give in order the various courts of the State. 

3. Name two writs that the Supreme Court is authorized to 
issue. What is the nature of each writ? 

4. How is the Chief Justice chosen? 

5. Who determines the Judicial Circuits, and under what 
limitation? 

6. Who fills vacancies in the Supreme and Circuit Courts? 

7. What prohibition is there on Supreme and Circuit Judges? 

8. By what authority are Judges removed? 

9. Give a reason of your own to explain why there are no 
laws relative to Article VII, Section 16. 

10. In what form are all writs prepared? 

QUESTIONS 

(To be answered after using the dictionary, asking some older 
person, or recalling what you have read, seen, or heard.) 

1. Think of some trial at law. Before what judge or justice 
did it come? Where? Who was the plaintiff ? Who the defend- 
ant? Was it a criminal or a civil trial? How many men con- 
stituted the jury? What was the outcome of the trial? 

2. When, where, how, by whom, and why are the following 
done? 

a. The voting of money to support the district school? 

b. Recording the transfers of property? 

c. Impeaching the Governor? 

d. Establishing a county training school? 

e. Altering the boundary of State judicial districts? 

f. Changing the name of a town? 

g. The expulsion of a Senator of the United States? 
h. The passage of a bill in the State Assembly? 

i. The payment of tax on the sale of cigars? 
j. The apportionment of the State and county tax among 
towns, cities, and villages? 



92 ESSENTIALS OF 

k. The filling of vacancies in office of Justice of the State Su- 
preme Court, State Senator, United States Eepresentative, County 
Superintendent ? 

1. The licensing of peddlers? 

m. Paying the tuition of rural pupils in free high schools? 

n. The payment of license for selling liquor? 

TAXATION 

In so great a State as Wisconsin, many things must be 
done for the public good. Eoads must be laid out, build- 
ings erected, schools supported, fire and police departments 
organized and equipped, and officers paid. All these things 
cost money, and this money comes from the people. In the 
State there is expended for public use about $27,000,000 
annually; so that if every man, woman and child paid an 
equal amount, each would pay about eleven dollars a year. 
But many pay little or nothing, so that some pay many 
times eleven dollars. Most of the taxes in Wisconsin are 
direct taxes, based on the amount of land and buildings 
which one owns, and the amount of his income. 

Let us first consider how the State assesses each man's 
property ; for taxes cannot be apportioned until the relative 
values of county, town, city, and individual property are 
determined. 

1. Each year, soon after May 1, the Town or City 
Assessor starts out to write in his book the value of farms 
and houses, herds, flocks, and other forms of wealth which 
the State taxes. When he has done this, he turns the book 
over to the Supervisors, 46 and they look it over and correct 
any mistakes. Sometimes people feel that their assessment 
is too high; and they can come before the Supervisors to 



4 6 In the larger cities the plan is somewhat different as ex- 
plained in another chapter. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 93 

ask that their assessments be lowered. For this purpose 
the Supervisors are called a "Board of Review/ 5 

2. The chairmen of the Supervisors of all the towns 
and cities now go to the county seat, and this Board of 
Supervisors look over the assessed value of all the towns 
and cities, and correct any errors that they discover. When 
the Board does this, it is called "The County Board of 
Equalization." 

3. Then the reports of all the counties are sent to the 
State capital, where the members of the State Tax Com- 
mission equalize the assessments among the counties, and 
correct any errors that may appear. This finishes the State 
assessment, and the Secretary of State can now apportion 
the State tax properly. 

4. In 1911 the Legislature passed an income tax law, 
which applies to corporations and individuals. This tax is 
assessed by assessors appointed by the State Tax Commis- 
sion, the State being divided into districts for this pur- 
pose, and the following is the schedule of rates on indi- 
vidual incomes: 

The first $800 of income is not taxed, and in case of 
a husband and wife this exemption is $1,200. Also for 
each child under eighteen years of age, and for each person 
dependent on the taxpayer for support, there is an ad- 
ditional exemption of $200. 

After these deductions are allowed the rate is : 

On the first $1,000 or part thereof, 1%, on the second, 1%%; 
third, iy 2 %; fourth, 1%%; fifth, 2%; on each succeeding thou- 
sand dollars, or part thereof, a constant increase of one-half of 
one per cent up to the twelfth thousand, on which it is 5%%. 
On the excess above twelve thousand it is 6%. 



94 ESSENTIALS OF 

In each county there is appointed by the State Tax 
Commission a County Board of Beview to hear complaints 
and correct errors. 

Of the amount derived from the income tax ten per cent 
goes to the State, twenty per cent to the county and seventy 
per cent to the town, city or village. 

THE VARIOUS TAXES TO BE RAISED 

1. The Legislature determines how much money is 
necessary for State expenses. Let us suppose that 
$3,000,000 is decided upon. The Secretary of State knows 
how much taxable wealth each county has and he reports 
to a county, that we will call Eich County, that has one- 
thirtieth of the wealth of the State, that it must raise for 
the State, one-thirtieth of the State tax, or $100,000. 

2. But Eich County has expenses of its own, and so 
there is a county tax to be added, which, let us suppose, is 
equal to the State tax; and this raises the total for Eich 
County to $200,000. The County Clerk knows how much 
property the various towns and cities have, and reports to 
the town of Eockland, which has one-twentieth of the wealth 
of the county, that it must raise one-twentieth of the county 
and State taxes, or $10,000. 

3. But the town of Eockland has expenses of its own; 
and then, too, the district school costs something, so there 
is another tax to be added to the $10,000,which, let us say, 
is $2,000. The Town Clerk knows the value of each man's 
taxable property, and he reports to Mr. John Doe, who 
owns taxable property to one-thirtieth of the value of all 
the taxable property in the town, that he must pay one- 
thirtieth of all the $12,000 tax, or $400 ; and this $400 Mr. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 95 

John Doe pays, usually in January, to the proper Town 
Treasurer. Then John Doe's money is divided among the 
Town Treasurer, the County Treasurer, and the State 
Treasurer, each one taking from it the share that belongs to 
the proper political unit for which it is levied. 

NOTEWORTHY FACTS 

1. Many things are exempted from taxation, such as: 
all United States, State, county, town, city, village, and 
school district property; the property of religious, scien- 
tific, literary, benevolent, and agricultural societies ; ceme- 
teries; armories and fire companies; also many kinds of 
personal property belonging to individuals, amounting to 
several hundred dollars in value. United States bonds, also 
treasury notes or "greenbacks" are exempt from taxation. 

2. Eailroads, street car lines, telegraph and telephone 
companies, and insurance companies are not assessed by 
the Assessor as is the owner of a house and lot, but they pay 
to the State what is known as a license fee, which is sup- 
posed to be an amount equal to what they would pay if 
their saving capacity were in the form of other property. 

3. Many kinds of activity and business pay a license 
fee. Hunters, peddlers, and showmen pay licenses. But 
the largest license tax is paid by liquor dealers. In towns 
and small villages the annual fee is $100, but the people 
may vote to make it as high as $500. In larger villages and 
cities the annual fee is $200, but the people may vote to 
make it as high as $1,000. These taxes go to the town, city 
or village in which they are raised. 

4. There is also a tax on incomes above $800. 



96 ESSENTIALS OF 

5. More and more it is the practice of the State to de- 
rive revenue for its support from licenses and corporation 
taxes, leaving county, town, and city to obtain their sup- 
port from taxes on real estate and personal property. There 
is also a disposition in favor of exempting or taxing very 
lightly all improvements such as houses and factories, thus 
shifting the taxes to land values only. 

6. Many voters believe that the tax on very large in- 
comes should be much larger, running on a graduated scale 
so high that the rate on the excess above half a million a 
year would be nearly or quite one hundred per cent. They 
argue that a half million a year means an accumulation 
of ten millions ; that no one can get possession of that sum 
unless he has some legal privilege; that one who enjoys 
protection, advantage or privilege from government which 
enables him to become so wealthy, ought to be willing to 
pay the government for such privilege all he gets above half 
a million a year. 

QUESTIONS 

(Those questions marked * can be answered by reading 
Article VIII of the State Constitution.) 

1. The United States Constitution prohibits an individual 
from suing a State in a Federal court. Suppose that you had a 
claim of money against Wisconsin. How would you proceed to 
collect it? 

*2. To what amount of indebtedness is the State of Wisconsin 
limited? 

*3. How long can the debt run? 

*4. What restrictions does the Constitution place on the 
levying of a tax? 

5. Find out from some taxpayer the amount of his school tax, 
and compare it with the amount of his other taxes. 

6. In a certain year the assessed valuation of the State was 
approximately $2,500,000,000, and the aggregate of State, county, 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 97 

and local taxes, $26,000,000. How much would a man pay whose 
property was assessed at $1,000? 

9. If you were to free from taxation some things now taxed, 
where would you begin? Why? 

10. How much State income tax does a married man pay in 
"Wisconsin, whose income is $55,000 a year? Answer, $2,863. 

11. Find the amount of income tax paid by an unmarried man 
living in Wisconsin, whose income is $5,000 a year. A married 
man with three minor children, income $2,000. 

12. If a young man should start at age 21 with an income of 
$25 a day above expenses, work 300 days per year, and save it all, 
at what age would he be a millionaire? 

13. Give some arguments for and against an income tax. 

*14. Would the Legislature have constitutional authority to 
levy all the State tax on land values only, and exempt from 
taxation all other forms of property? See Section 1, Article VIII. 

*15. Does the constitution permit the Legislature to levy a tax 
for the purpose of building a railroad? A canal? A bridge? 
Could the Legislature borrow money for such purposes! 

16. In questions 10 and 11 find the total amount of income tax, 
both State and Federal that each would pay. A list of rates and 
exemptions can be obtained by calling on or addressing the U. S. 
revenue collector for your district. 

SUFFRAGE AXD ELECTIONS 

In general, a man or woman to be permitted to vote 
must be at least twenty-one years of age, must have resided 
in the State one year next preceding the election, and in 
the election district 10 days, and must be a citizen of the 
United States. 47 There are some restrictions as to the 
manner, time, and place of voting, so that it is difficult to 
cheat, or to influence a voter unduly. 

Generally, the vote is taken by depositing ballots in a 
box, but in some parts of the State the voting machine is 



47 In some states voters do not have to be citizens of the United 
States, foreigners beiner allowed to vote who have declared their 
intention to become citi/ens. This was true in Wisconsin up to 
1912. 



98 ESSENTIALS OF 

used. The voter indicates his choice by pulling little levers 
and a mechanical apparatus makes the record. 

The courts have decided that the arrangement or group- 
ing of the names of candidates on a voting machine is a 
"ballot" within the constitutional meaning of the word. 

Women do not have the full right of voting ; they have 
only the school suffrage. To extend the right of suffrage 
does. not require a Constitutional amendment, but only 
an act of the Legislature, ratified by a referendum vote of 
the people at the next general election. Find the clause 
of the Constitution which prescribes the method of extend- 
ing the franchise. 48 

THE PARTY SYSTEM IN WISCONSIN 

1. The "September primary election" is held on the 
first Tuesday in September, in all the voting precincts of 
the State. This determines who shall be the candidates on 
the general ticket at the November election. At the pri- 
mary election, each voter votes for one "party-committee- 
man," and in each precinct the one who receives the highest 
vote becomes the party-committeeman for the term of two 
years. 

2. The men thus chosen constitute the County Party 
Committee. 



4 8 The primary meaning of c ' franchise ' ' is a right; the secon- 
dary meaning is a special privilege. In a democracy voting is a 
right, but in other forms of government it is a special privilege 
granted to certain individuals by the government or the ruling 
class, that is, by an organization apart from the people and above 
them. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 99 

3. The County Committee elects a Congressional Com- 
mittee, composed usually of two representatives from each 
county in the district, and the Senate and Assembly com- 
mittees, composed of two members from each district. 

4. The party is now organized, and the various com- 
mittees attend to the conduct of the campaign in the various 
towns, villages, and cities. 

5. On the third Tuesday in September the nominees 
for State offices, together with those State Senators whose 
term of office does not expire in the ensuing January, meet 
at the Capital and make out the State platform for the 
party ; this is a declaration of principles, pointing out what 
the party "stands for" or proposes to do if its candidates are 
elected. 49 

6. On the first Tuesday in April, of the Presidential 
year, an election is held at which each party elects four 
Delegates-at-Large and two from each Congressional dis- 
trict, who go to represent their party at the National Con- 
vention, at which the Presidential candidate is to be 
nominated. 

7. It should be understood also that no one can be a 
candidate in any primary election who does not secure upon 
his nominating papers the names of from one to three per 
cent of the voters of his precinct. 



49 The successful party does not always fulfill the pledges made 
before election; the platforms and the campaign speakers "point 
with pride " to the party's achievements and "view with alarm " 
what the other party has done or proposes to do; but this is not 
taken seriously except by ignorant people. Intelligent voters have 
a sense of humor. 



100 ESSENTIALS OF 

8. After the election, each candidate must make a 
sworn statement of the amount of money which he spent 
in the campaign, and the purposes for wirich it was used. 
The amount which each may spend is fixed by law ; this is 
called the corrupt practices act and is intended to prevent 
the improper use of money to secure an election. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION 

In the Ordinance of 1787 are written these words: 
"Keligion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the 
means of education shall forever be encouraged." And fol- 
lowing out this noble sentiment, Wisconsin has always 
maintained a wise and generous policy for the support of 
various kinds of schools. 

At the foundation of the system are the district schools, 
supported partly by a State tax, and partly by local taxes 
on the property in the district. Eight months 5 school must 
be held in order to entitle the district to a share of the 
"State money," and every child between the ages of seven 
and fourteen years must be in regular attendance. Schools 
that maintain a certain standard of equipment in addition 
to the ordinary furnishings, including a proper system of 
ventilation, are called schools of the first class and receive 
an extra fifty dollars a year of State money. 

Then comes the free high schools, which are also sup- 
ported jointly by State and local taxes. 50 These schools 
offer, usually, four-year courses, and give young people 



50 The independent high schools are supported locally without 
state aid. Twelve of the largest in the state are of this class. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 101 

many opportunities for a secondary education. There are 
many large and beautiful high school buildings in Wiscon- 
sin, with every kind of modern convenience, bath rooms, 
gymnasiums, laboratories for manual training and the 
domestic arts, and commercial departments in which young 
men and women are fitted for many lines of practical busi- 
ness. 

There are also various special schools, county training 
schools for teachers, county agricultural schools, where 
agriculture and domestic science are taught, city manual- 
training schools, trade schools and vocational schools. 

Nine State Normal Schools are maintained for the 
training of teachers, besides Stout Institute, a school for 
training teachers of the manual arts. County Training 
Schools for the training of teachers are maintained in more 
than one-third of the counties. They are supported partly 
by the County and partly by the State. 

Lastly comes the State University, with its colleges of 
letters, applied science, law, pharmacy, medicine, and ag- 
riculture. 

One who desires an education has usually an oppor- 
tunity to get it. An education costs money; but many 
students, by the exercise of economy and by doing various 
kinds of labor, manage to work their way through high 
school and college. This class of students usually furnishes 
the highest types of manhood and womanhood. 

PRACTICAL, AND REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. Do you know of any citizens of the United States, twenty- 
one years old, who cannot vote for President of the United States? 



102 ESSENTIALS OF 

2. Name the most important office in the School District, 
Town, County, and State, and tell why you think the office im- 
portant. 

3. What do you understand by a "primary ballot M f 

4. Find out from some citizen how county officers were nomi- 
nated previous to 1900, and compare the manner with the way in 
which this is now done. Which seems the better way, and why! 

5. Find out also how voting was done previous to 1890, and 
compare the manner with the present plan. Which seems to be 
better, and why? 

6. In towns and cities there is sometimes drawn on the walk 
on either side of the voting place a broad chalk line. What is it 

7. Give your reasons for or against women's voting at all the 
elections. 

8. How does a person vote who does not know how to read? 

9. Suppose that you desired to be a candidate for State 
Senator in your district. How would you go about it to secure 
the nomination and election? 

10. Quote the sentence in the ordinance of 1787 relative to 
"religion, morality, and knowledge. " 

11. Where should a young person go from the country who 
wishes to prepare to practice medicine? engineering? farming? 
mercantile affairs? teaching? 

12. How may the Constitution of the State be amended? 

13. Who appoints the Postmaster in your locality? Are all 
Postmasters appointed by the same person? 

14. What ways are there of sending money to New York? To 
Paris? 

15. What are the classes of mail matter, and what is the rate 
of postage for each? 

16. What is a Postal Savings Bank? Is there one in your 
county? 

17. What is a Senatorial district? An Assembly district? A 
Congressional district? 

18. Who builds and repairs the roads of your community? 

19. What State officer comes into close touch with the farmer? 
With the manufacturer ? 

20. Of what use to Wisconsin are the following: The Bureau 
of Labor? the Railroad Commission? the Dairy and Food Com- 
mission? the Tax Commission? the Board of Forestry? the Board 
of Agriculture? the State Board of Health? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 103 

THE BOARD OF CONTROL 

This is a State board which has the oversight and con- 
trol of certain reformatory, charitable and penal institu- 
tions, among which are 

The State Penitentiary at Waupun. 

Hospitals for the Insane, at Oshkosh and at Madison. 

The School for the Blind, at Janesville. 

The School for the Deaf, at Delavan. 

The School for the Feeble-Minded, at Chippewa Falls. 

The Home for Dependent Children, at Sparta. 

The Industrial School for Boys, at Waukesha. 

The State Eeformatory, at Green Bay. 

The Industrial School for Girls, at Milwaukee. 

These institutions are supported by the State. The 
Veterans' Home at Waupaca, a home for disabled soldiers 
and their wives, is supported jointly by the State and the 
Federal government. 

THE BLUE BOOK 

Every school in Wisconsin is entitled to a free copy of 
the Blue Book. All that is necessary to get it is for the 
Clerk of the School Board to write to the Superintendent 
of Public Property at Madison, requesting a copy for the 
school. This is one of the most useful reference books that 
a school can have. Here are some of the subjects pre- 
sented : 

Declaration of Independence, 
Constitution of the United States, 
Constitution of Wisconsin, 



104 ESSENTIALS OF 

Census Statistics, 

The Industries of Wisconsin, with Diagrams. 

Election Statistics, 

State Finances, 

List of Wisconsin Newspapers, 

List of Postoffices, 

Grand Army Data, 

U. S. Government, 

Territorial and State Governments, 

Political Parties and Platforms, 

Biographical Sketches of public men. 

In statistical matters pertaining either to the Federal or 
to the State government, the Blue Book is a great store- 
house of information. 

Besides the executive and administrative officers pro- 
vided for by the Constitution, the Legislature has estab- 
lished many Commissions, Boards and Agents. There are 
about fifty of these boards, with hundreds of officers and 
employes. A list of them is given in the Blue Book. The 
fact that these are all appointive positions puts a large 
amount of patronage in the hands of the Governor. 

SEARCH QUESTIONS 

(Answers to the questions marked with a * can be found in the 
Blue Book of 1913. But from subsequent editions much inter- 
esting historic matter has been omitted.) 

1. How many Chief Justices of the United States Supreme 
Court have there been? 

2. When will the next election of a United States Senator 
occur in Wisconsin? 

3. Who is now the senior United States Senator from Wis- 
consin? 

4. How many State Normal Schools are in Wisconsin, and 
where are they located? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 105 

*5. Who designed the new capitol at Madison, and how much 
did it cost? 

*6. A noted Wisconsin leader commanded Wisconsin men who 
fought against George Washington in two wars. Who was he? 

*7. What Wisconsin legislator was shot and killed in the 
legislative chamber? 

8. Who is the State Senator and who the Assemblyman from 
your district, and what do you find about their personal history? 

*9. Five presidents of the United States were of Irish an- 
cestry, three of Scotch, and two of Dutch. Who were they? 

10. How many newspapers are published in your county? 

11. What parties in their platforms declared in favor of the 
initiative, referendum and recall? 

*12. What can you tell about the Black Hawk war? 

*13. When was the first telegram received in Milwaukee? When 
and where was the first railroad train run in Wisconsin? 

*14. Who was the first Wisconsin volunteer killed in the Civil 
War? 

*15. What United States Senator from Wisconsin was asked 
to resign, and why? ? 

*16. Eleven presidents did not have a majority of the popular 
votes? Who were they? 

*17. What governor of Wisconsin was drowned in the Tennessee 
river ? 

*18. When did the first steamboat ascend the Mississippi? 

* 19. What was the ' ' Bennett Law ' ' ? 
20. What is the population to the square mile of your county? 

*21. Badgers do not abound in Wisconsin and never did; why, 
then, is Wisconsin called the "Badger State' '? 

22. What was the population of your township, village or city 
in 1910? How much did it increase or decrease in the previous 
decade? 

*23. The names of some counties have been changed. Dallas, 
La Pointe, New. Shawanaw, Bad Ax and Gates are former names 
of counties in Wisconsin. What are their present names? 



Constitution of Wisconsin 



[The omissions indicated by stars are matters of detail 
of slight interest to the young student. The full text may 
be found in the Blue Book.] 

PEEAMBLE. 

We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our 
freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect gov- 
ernment, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general wel- 
fare, do establish this Constitution. 

AETICLE 1. 

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 

Section 1. All men are born equally free and independent, 
and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights governments 
are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from th« 
consent of the governed. 

Section 2. There should be neither slavery nor involuntary 
servitude in this state, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. 

Section 3. Every person may freely speak, write and publish 
his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of 
that right, and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the 
liberty of speech, or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions, or 
indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidenced and if it 
shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous be 
true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, 
the party shall be acquitted ; and the jury shall have the right to 
determine the law and the fact. 

Section 4. The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to 
consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or 
any department thereof, shall never be abridged. 

Section 5. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, 
and shall extend to all cases at law, without resrard to the amount 
in controversy; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all 
cases, in the manner prescribed by law. 

106 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 107 

Section 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor shall ex- 
cessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments be in- 
flicted. 

Section 7. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall en- 
joy the right to be heard by himself and counsel; to demand the 
nature and cause of the accusation against him; to meet the wit- 
nesses face to face; to have compulsory process to compel the at- 
tendance of witnesses in his behalf; and in prosecutions by indict- 
ment, or information, to a speedy public trial by an impartial 
jury of the county or district wherein the offense shall have been 
committed; which county or district shall have been previously 
ascertained by law. 

Section 8. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal 
offense without due process of law, and no person, for the same 
offense, shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall 
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. 
All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sure- 
ties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the 
presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus shall not be suspended unless when in case of rebellion or 
invasion the public safety may require it. 

Section 9. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in 
the laws, for all injuries, or wrongs which he may receive in his 
person, propertv, or character; he ought to obtain justice freely, 
and without being obliged to purchase it, completely and without 
denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws. 

Section 10. Treason against the State shall consist only in 
levying war against the same, or in adhering to its enemies, giving 
theni aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
on confession in open court. 

Section 11. The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and 
seizures shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but 
upon probable cause, supported by oath, or affirmation and par- 
ticularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

Section 12. No bill of attainder, ex-post facto law, nor anv 
law impairing the obligation of contracts shall ever be passed, and 
no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of 
estate. 

Section 13. The property of no person shall be taken for 
public use, without just compensation therefor. 

Section 14. All lands within the State are declared to be al- 
lodial, and feudal tenures are prohibited. — Leases and grants of 
agricultural land for a longer term than fifteen years, in which 



108 ESSENTIALS OF 

rent, or service of any kind shall be reserved, and all fines and 
like restraints upon alienation, reserved in any grant of land, 
hereafter made-, are declared to be void. 

Section 15. No distinction shall ever be made by law between 
resident aliens and citizens, in reference to the possession, enjoy- 
ment, or descent of property. 

Section 16. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, arising 
out of, or founded on a contract, expressed or implied. 

Section 17. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary 
comforts of life, shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting 
a reasonable amount of property from seizure, or sale for the pay- 
ment of any debt, or liability hereafter contracted. 

Section 18. The right of every man to worship Almighty God, 
according to the dictates of his own conscience, shall never be 
infringed; nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect, or 
support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against 
his consent ; nor shall any control of, or interference with, the 
rights of conscience be permitted, or any preference be given by 
law to any religious establishments, or modes of worship ; nor 
shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of 
religious societies, or religious, or theological seminaries. 

Section 19. No religious test shall ever be required as a 
qualification for any public trust under the State, and no person 
shall be rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of 
law, or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the subject of 
religion. 

Section 20. The military shall be in strict subordination to 
the civil power. 

Section 21. Writs of error shall never be prohibited by law. 

Section 22. The blessings of a free government can only be 
maintained by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, tem- 
perance, frugality and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fun- 
damental principles. 

AETICLE II. 

BOUNDARIES. 



AETICLE in. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Section 1. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years 
or upwards belonging to either of the following classes who shall 
have resided within the State for one year next preceding any 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 109 

election, and in the election district where he offers to vote), such 
time as may be prescribed by the Legislature, not exceeding thirty 
days, shall be deemed a qualified elector at such election. 

1. Citizens of the United States. 

2. Persons of foreign birth who, prior to the first day of 
December, A. D. 1908, shall have declared their intentions to be- 
come citizens conformable to the laws of the United States on the 
subject of naturalization; provided that the rights hereby granted 
to such persons shall cease on the first day of December A. D. 1912. 

3. Persons of Indian blood who have once been declared by 
law of Congress to be citizens of the United States, any sub- 
sequent law of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 

4. Civilized persons of Indian descent not members of any 
tribe ; provided, that the legislature may at any time extend by law 
the right of suffrage to persons not herein enumerated; but no 
such law shall be in force until the same shall have been submitted 
to a vote of the people at a general election and approved by a 
majority of all the votes cast at such election; and provided 
further, that in incorporated cities and villages, the legislature 
may "provide for the registration of electors and prescribe proper 
rules and regulations therefor. 

Section 2. No person under guardianship, non compos men- 
tis, or insane, shall be qualified to vote at any election; nor shall 
any person convicted of treason, or felony be qualified to vote at 
any election, unless restored to civil rights. 

Section 3. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such 
township officers as may by law be directed or allowed to be other- 
wise chosen. 

Section 4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his resi- 
dence in this State, by reason of his absence on business of the 
United States, or of this State. 

Section 5. No soldier, seaman, or marine in the army or navy 
of the United States, shall be deemed a resident of this State, in 
consequence of being stationed within the same. 

Section 6. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of 
suffrage all persons who have been or may be convicted of bribery, 
or larceny, or of any infamous crime, and depriving every person 
who shall make, or become directly, or indirectly interested in any 
bet or wager depending upon the result of any election^ from the 
right to vote at such election. 

AETICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE. 

Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate 
and Assembly. 

Section 2. The number of the members of the Assembly shall 
never be less than fifty-four, nor more than one hundred. The 



110 ESSENTIALS OF 

Senate shall consist of a number not more than one-third, nor less 
than one-fourth of the number of the members of the Assembly. 

Section 3. The Legislature shall provide by law for an 
enumeration of the inhabitants of the State in the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and fifty-five and at the end of every ten year a 
thereafter; and at their first session after such enumeration, and 
also after each enumeration made by the authority of the United 
States the legislature shall apportion and district anew the mem- 
bers of the Senate and Assembly, according to the number of in- 
habitants, excluding Indians not taxed, and soldiers and officers 
of the United States Army and Navy. 

Section 4. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen bi- 
ennially, by single districts on the Tuesday succeeding the first 
Monday of November after the adoption of this amendment by the 
qualified electors of the several districts; such districts to be 
bounded by county, precinct, town or ward lines, to consist of con- 
tiguous territory, and be in as compact form as practicable. 

Section 5. The Senators shall be elected by single districts 
of convenient contiguous territory, at the same time and in the 
same manner as members of the Assembly are required to be 
chosen, and no assembly district shall be divided in the formation 
of a senate district. The senate district shall be numbered in the 
regular series and the Senators shall be chosen alternately from 
the odd and even-numbered districts. The Senators elected, or 
holding over at the time of the adoption of this amendment, shall 
continue in office till their successors are duly elected and qualified, 
and after the adoption of this amendment, all Senators shall be 
chosen for the term of four years. 

Section 6. No person shall be eligible to the Legislature, who 
shall not have resided one year within the State, and be a quali- 
fied voter in the district which he may be chosen to represent. 

Section 7. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns and qualifications of its own members; and a majority of 
each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller num- 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance 
of absent members in such manner, and under such penalties as 
each house may provide. 

Section 8. Each house may determine the rules of its own 
proceedings, punish for contempt and disorderly behavior, and 
with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, ex- 
pel a member;' but no member shall be expelled a second time for 
the same cause. 

Section 9. Each house shall choose its own officers and the 
Senate shall choose a temporary president, when the Lieutenant- 
Governor shall not attend as president, or shall act as Governor. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 111 

Section 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings 
and publish the same except such parts as require secrecy. The 
doors of each house shall be kept open except when the public 
welfare shall require secrecy. Neither house shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days. 

Section 11. The legislature shall meet at the seat of govern- 
ment at such time as shall be provided by law, once in two years 
and no oftener, unless convened by the Governor in special ses- 
sion, and when so convened no business shall be transacted except 
as shall be necessary to accomplish the special purposes for which 
it was convened. 

Section 12. No member of the Legislature shall, during the 
term for which he was elected, be appointed or elected to any 
civil office in the State, which shall have been created, or the emol- 
uments of which shall have been increased, during the term for 
which he was elected. 

Section 13. No person being 1 a member of Congress, or hold- 
ing any military or civil office under the United States, shall be 
eligible to a seat in the Legislature, and if any person shall after 
his election as a member of the Legislature, be elected to Congress, 
or be appointed to any office, civil or military, under the govern- 
ment of the United States, his acceptance thereof shall vacate his 
seat. 

Section 14. The Governor shall issue writs of election to fill 
such vacancies as may occur in either house of the Legislature. 

Section 15. Members of the Legislature shall in all cases, ex- 
cept treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from 
arrest; nor shall they be subject to any civil process during the ses- 
sion of the Legislature nor for fifteen days next before the com- 
mencement and after the termination of each session. 

Section 16. No member of the Legislature shall be liable in 
any civil action or criminal prosecution whatever, for words spoken 
in debate. 

Section 17. The style of the laws of the State shall be * ' The 
People of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Senate and As- 
sembly, do enact as follows : ' ' and no law shall be enacted except 
by bill. 

Section 18. No private or local bill which may be passed by 
the Legislature shall embrace more than one subject, and that 
shall be expressed in the title. 

Section 19. Any bill may originate in either house of the 
Legislature, and a bill passed by one house may be amended by the 
other. 

Section 20. The yeas and nays of the members of either 
house, on any question shall, at the request of one-sixth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 



112 ESSENTIALS OF 

Section 21. Each member of the Legislature shall receive for 
his services, for and during a regular session, the sum of five 
hundred dollars, and ten cents for every mile he shall travel in 
going to and returning from the place of meeting of the Legis- 
lature on the most usual route. In case of an extra session of the 
Legislature, no additional compensation shall be allowed to any 
member thereof, either directly or indirectly, except for mileage, 
to be computed at the same rate as for a regular session. No 
stationery, newspapers, postage or other perquisite, except the 
salary and mileage above provided, shall be received from the state 
by any member of the Legislature for his services, or in any other 
manner as such member. 

Section 22. The Legislature may confer upon the boards of 
supervisors of the several counties of the State, such powers of a 
local, legislative and administrative character as they shall from 
time to time prescribe. 

Section 23. The Legislature shall establish but one system of 
town and county government which shall be as nearly uniform as 
practicable. 

Section 24. The Legislature shall never authorize any lot- 
tery, or grant any divorce. 

Section 25. The Legislature shall provide by law, that all 
stationery required for the use of the State, and all printing 
authorized and required by them to be done for their use, or for 
the State, shall be let by contract to the lowest bidder, but the 
Legislature may establish a maximum price; no member of the 
Legislature or other State officer, shall be interested, either directly 
or indirectly, in any such contract. 

Section 26. The Legislature shall never grant any extra com- 
pensation to anv public officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after 
the services shall have been rendered, or the contract entered into, 
nor shall the compensation of any public officer be increased, or 
diminished, during his term of office. 

Section 27. The Legislature shall direct by law in what man- 
ner and in what courts, suits may be brought against the State. 

Section 28. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, exec- 
utive and judicial, except such inferior officers as may be by law 
exempted, shall before they enter upon the duties of their respective 
offices, take and subscribe an oath, or affirmation, to support the 
Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the 
State of Wisconsin, and faithfullv to discharge the duties of their 
respective offices to the best of their ability. 

Section 29. The Legislature shall determine what persons 
shall constitute the militia of the State, and may provide for or- 
ganizing and disciplining the same in such manner as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 113 

Section 30. In all elections to be made by the Legislature, 
the members' thereof shall vote viva voce, and their votes shall be 
entered on the journal. 

Section 31. The Legislature is prohibited from enacting any 
special or private laws in the following cases: 1st. For changing 
the name of persons or constituting one person the heir-at-law of 
another. 2d. For laying out, opening or altering highways, ex- 
cept in cases of State roads extending into more than one county, 
and military roads to aid in the construction of which lands may 
be granted by Congress. 3d. For authorizing persons to keep 
ferries across streams, at points wholly within this state. 4th. For 
authorising the sale or mortgage of real or personal property of 
minors or others under disability. 5th. For locating or changing 
any county seat. 6th. For assessment or collection of taxes or for 
extending the time for collection thereof. 7th. For granting cor- 
porate powers or privileges, except to cities. 8th. For authoriz- 
ing the apportionment of any part of the school fund. 9th. For 
incorporating any city, town or village, or to amend the charter 
thereof. 

Section 32. The Legislature shall provide general laws for 
the transaction of any business that may be prohibited by section 
thirty-one of this article, and all such laws shall be uniform in their 
operations throughout the State. 

AETICLE . V. 

EXECUTIVE. 

Section 1. The Executive power shall be vested in a Gov- 
ernor, who shall hold his office for two years; a Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor shall be elected at the same time, and for the same term. 

Section 2. No person except a citizen of the United States 
and a qualified elector of the State shall be eligible to the office of 
Governor, or Lieutenant Governor. 

Section 3. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be 
elected by the qualified electors of the State at the times and places 
of choosing members of the Legislature. The persons respectively 
having the highest number of votes for Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor, shall be elected; but in case two or more shall have an 
equal and the highest number of votes for Governor, or Lieutenant 
Governor, the two houses of the Legislature, at its next annual 
session, shall forthwith, bv joint ballot, choose one of the persons 
so having an equal and the highest number of votes for Governor, 
or Lieutenant Governor. The returns of election for Governor and 
Lieutenant Governor shall be made in such manner as shall be 
provided by law. 

8 



114 ESSENTIALS OF 

Section 4. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the 
Military and Naval forces of the State. He shall have power to 
convene the Legislature on extraordinary occasions, and in case of 
invasion, or danger from the prevalence of contagious disease at 
the seat of government, he may convene them at any other suitable 
place within the State. He shall communicate with the Legis- 
lature, at every session, the condition of the State; and rec- 
ommend such matters to them for their consideration as he may 
deem expedient. He shall transact all necessary business with the 
officers of the government, civil and military. He shall expedite all 
such measures as may be resolved upon by the Legislature, and 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

Section 5. The Governor shall receive, during his continuance 
in office, an annual compensation of five thousand dollars which 
shall be in full for all traveling or other expenses incident to his 
duties. 

Section 6. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, 
commutations and pardons after conviction, for all offenses, ex- 
cept treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and 
with such restrictions and limitations as he may think proper, sub- 
ject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
manner of applying for pardons. Under conviction for treason, he 
shall have the power to suspend the execution of the sentence, un- 
til the case shall be reported to the Legislature at its next meeting, 
when the Legislature shall either pardon or commute the sentence, 
or grant a further reprieve. He shall annually communicate to 
the Legislature each case of reprieve, commutation or pardon 
granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he 
was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the com- 
mutation, pardon or reprieve, with his reasons for granting the 
same. 

Section 7. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, or 
his removal from office, death, inability from mental or physical 
disease, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and 
duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor for 
the residue of the term, or until the Governor, absent or impeached, 
shall have returned, or the disability shall cease. But when the 
Governor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the 
State in time of War, at the head of the Military force thereof, 
he shall continue Commander-in-Chief of the Military force of the 
State. 

Section 8. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have only a casting vote therein. If, during- a 
vacancy in the office of Governor, the Lieutenant Governor shall be 
impeached, displaced, resign, die, or from mental, or physical dis- 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 115 

ease become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or 
be absent from the State, the Secretary of State shall act as Gov- 
ernor, until the vacancy shall be rilled, or the disability shall cease. 
Section 9. The Lieutenant Governor shall receive, during his 
continuance in office, an annual compensation of one thousand 
dollars. 

Section 10. Every bill which shall have passed the Legis- 
lature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor; 
if he approves, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with 
his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who 
shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed 
to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the 
members present shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, to- 
gether with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the 
members present, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
votes in both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
names of the members voting for or against the bill, shall be 
entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall 
not be returned by the Governor within six days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be 
a law, unless the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, prevent 
its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

ARTICLE YI. 

ADMINISTRATION. 

Section 1. There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of 
the State, at the times and places of choosing the members of the 
Legislature, a Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney Gen- 
eral, who shall severally hold their offices for the term of two years. 

Section 2. The Secretary of State shall keep a fair record 
of the official acts of the Legislative and Executive department of 
the State, and shall, when required, lay the same and all matters 
relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature. He shall 
be ex-officio Auditor and shall perform such other duties as shall 
be assigned him by law. He shall receive as a compensation for 
his services yearly such sum as shall be provided by law, and shall 
keep his office at the seat of government. 

Section 3. The powers, duties and compensation of the 
Treasurer and Attorney Gerjeral shall be prescribed by law. 

Sfxtion 4. Sheriffs, coroners, registers of deeds, district at- 
torneys, and all other countv officers except judicial officers, shall 
be chosen by the electors of the respective counties, once in every 
two years. Sheriffs shall hold no other office, and be ineligible for 
two years next succeeding the termination of their offices; they 



116 ESSENTIALS OF 

may be required by law to renew their security from time to time, 
and in default of giving such new security their office shall be 
deemed vacant ; but the county shall never be made responsible for 
the acts of the Sheriff. The Governor may remove any officer in 
this section mentioned, giving to such a copy of the charges against 
him and an opportunity of being heard in his defense. All vacan- 
cies shall be filled by appointment; and the person appointed to fill 
a vacancy shall hold only for the unexpired portion of the term to 
which he shall be appointed and until his successor shall be elected 
and qualified. 

ARTICLE VII. 

JUDICIARY. 

Section 1. The court for the trial of impeachments shall be 
composed of the Senate. The House of Eepresentatives shall have 
the power of impeaching all civil officers of this State, for corrupt 
conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors; but a majority 
of all the members elected shall concur in an impeachment. On the 
trial of an impeachment against the Governor, the Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor shall not act as a member of the court. No judicial officer 
shall exercise his office, after he shall have been impeached, until 
his acquittal. Before the trial of an impeachment, the members 
of the court shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially 
to try the impeachment according to evidence, and no person shall 
be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, or removal from office and dis- 
qualification to hold any office of honer, profit or trust under the 
State;. but the party impeached shall be liable to indictment, trial 
and punishment according to law. 

Section 2. The judicial power of this State, both as to mat- 
ters of law and equity, shall be vested in a Supreme court, Circuit 
courts, Courts of Probate and in Justices of the Peace. The Legis- 
lature may also vest such jurisdiction as shall be deemed necessary 
in municipal courts, and shall have power to establish inferior 
courts in the several counties, with limited civil and criminal juris- 
diction. Provided, that the jurisdiction which may be vested in 
municipal courts, shall not exceed, in their respective municipal- 
ities, that of circuit courts in their respective circuits, as prescribe^ 
in this Constitution ; And that the Legislature shall provide as well 
for the election of Judges of the Municipal courts, as of the 
Judges of inferior courts, by the qualifier! electors of the -^s-npctive 
jurisdictions. The term of office of the judges of the said Munic- 
ipal and inferior courts shall not be longer than that of the Judges 
of the Circuit Court. 

Section 3. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise pro- 
vided in this Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 117 

which shall be co-extensive with the State; but in no case re- 
moved to the Supreme Court shall a trial by jury be allowed. The 
Supreme Court shall have a general superintending control over all 
inferior courts ; it shall have power to issue writs of habeas-corpus, 
mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and other original 
and remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same. 

Section 4. The chief justice and associate justices of the 
Supreme Court shall be severally known as justices of said court, 
with the same terms of office of ten years respectively as now pro- 
vided. The Supreme Court shall consist of seven justices, any 
four of whom shall be a quorum, to be elected as now provided, 
not more than one each year. The justice having been longest a 
continuous member of said court, or in case two or more such senior 
justices shall have served for the same length of time, then the 
one whose commission first expires shall be ex-officio, the chief 
justice. 

* 4f * * * 

Section 7. For each circuit there shall be chosen by the quali- 
fied electors thereof, one circuit judge, except that in any circuit 
composed of one county only, which county shall contain a popula- 
tion according to the last State or United States census, of one 
hundred thousand inhabitants or over, the Legislature may, from 
time to time, authorize additional circuit judges to be chosen. 
Every circuit judge shall reside in the circuit from which he is 
elected, and shall hold his office for such term and receive such com- 
pensation as the Legislature shall prescribe. 

Section 10. Each of the judges of the Supreme and Circuit 
courts shall receive a salary, payable quarterly, of not less than 
one thousand five hundred dollars annually; they shall receive no 
fees of office, or other compensation than their salaries; they shall 
hold no office of public trust, except a judicial office, during the 
term for which they are respectively elected;, and all votes for 
either of them for any office, except a judicial office, given by the 
Legislature or the people, shall be void. No person shall be eligible 
to the office of iudo-e. who shall not, at the time of his election, be 
a citizen of the United States, and have attained the age of twenty- 
five years, and be a qualified elector within the jurisdiction for 
which he mav be chosen. 



Section 13. Anv judge of the Sur^eme or Circuit court may 
be removed from offirp. bv address of both houses of the Legis- 
lature, if two-thirds of all the members elected to each house con- 
cur therein, but no removal ^hall } p mqrle bv virtue of thi«5 section, 
unless the judge complained of shall have been served with a copy 
Of tM Charges against him, as the ground of addresg, and shall 



118 ESSENTIALS OF 

have had an opportunity of being heard in his defense. On the 

question of removal, the ayes and noes shall be entered on the 

journals. 

***** 

Section 16. The Legislature shall pass laws for the regulation 

of tribunals of conciliation, defining their power and duties. Such 

tribunals may be established in and for any township, and shall 

have power to render judgment, to be obligatory on the parties, 

when they shall voluntarily submit their matter in difference to 

arbitration, and agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto in 

writing. 

***** 

Section 20. Any suitor, in any court of this State, shall have 
the right to prosecute or defend his suit either in his own proper 
person, or by an attorney or agent of his choice. 

Section 21. The Legislature shall provide by law for the 
speedy publication of all statute laws, and of such judicial de- 
cisions, made within the State, as may be deemed expedient. And 
no general law shall be in force until published. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

FINANCE. 

Section 1. The rules of taxation shall be uniform, and taxes 
shall be levied upon such property as the Legislature shall pre- 
scribe. Taxes may also be imposed on incomes, privileges and oc- 
cupations, which taxes may be graduated and progressive, and 
reasonable exemptions may be provided. 

* * * * * 

Section 7. The Legislature may also borrow money to repel 
invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in time of 
war; but the money thus raised shall be applied exclusively to the 
object for which the loan was authorized, or to the repayment of 
the debt thereby created. 

* * * * # 

Section 10. The State shall never contract any debt for works 
of internal improvement, or be a party in carrying on such works, 
but whenever grants of land or other property shall have been 
made to the State, especially dedicated by the grant to particular 
works of internal improvement, the State may carry on such 
particular works, and shall devote thereto the avails of such grants, 
and may pledge or appropriate the revenues derived from such 
works in aid of their completion. 

Provided that the State may appropriate money in the treasury 
or to be thereafter raised by taxation for the construction or im- 
provement of public highways. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 119 

AETICLE IX. 

EMINENT DOMAIN AND PROPERTY OF THE STATE. 

Section 1. The State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on all 
rivers and lakes bordering on the State, so far as such rivers or 
lakes shall form a common boundary to the State and any other 
State, or Territory, now or hereafter to be formed, and bounded by 
the same; and the river Mississippi and the navigable waters lead- 
ing into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places 
between the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as 
well to the inhabitants of the State, as to the citizens of the United 
States, without any tax, impost or duty therefor. 

Section 2. The title of all lands and other property which 
have accrued to the Territory of Wisconsin by grant, gift, pur- 
chase, forfeiture, escheat, or otherwise, shall vest in the State of 
Wisconsin. 

Section 3. The people of the State, in their right of sover- 
eignty, are declared to possess the ultimate property, in and to 
all lands within the jurisdiction of the State, and all lands the 
title to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert or 
escheat to the people. 

AETICLE X. 

EDUCATION. 

Section 1. The supervision of public instruction shall be 
vested in a state superintendent and such other officers as the 
Legislature shall direct; and their qualifications, powers, duties 
and compensation shall be prescribed by law. The state super- 
intendent shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at 
the same time and in the same manner as members of the Supreme 
Court, and shall hold his office for four years from the succeeding 
first Monday in July. The state superintendent chosen at the gen- 
eral election in November, 1902, shall hold and continue in his 
office until the first Monday of July, 1905, and his successor shall 
be chosen at the time of the judicial election in April, 1905. The 
term of office, time and manner of electing or appointing all other 
officers of supervision of public instruction shall be fixed by law. 

Section 2. The proceeds of all lands, that have been or here- 
after may be granted by the United States to this State for ed- 
ucational purposes (except the lands heretofore granted for the 
purposes of a University) and all moneys, and the clear proceeds 
of all property that may accrue to the State by forfeiture or 
escheat, and all moneys which may be paid as an equivalent for 
exemption from military duty; and the clear proceeds of all fines 
collected in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws, 
and all moneys arising from any grant to the State where the 



120 ESSENTIALS OF 

purposes of such grant are not specified, and the five hundred 
thousand acres of land, to which the State is entitled by the pro- 
visions of -an act of Congress entitled l ' An act to appropriate the 
proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant pre-emption 
rights," approved the fourth day of September, one thousand 
eight hundred and forty-one; and also the five per-centum of the 
net proceeds of the public lands to which the State shall become 
entitled on her admission into the Union (if Congress shall con- 
sent to such appropriation of the two grants last mentioned) shall 
be set apart as a separate fund, to be called "The School Fund," 
the interest of which and all other revenues derived, from the school 
lands, shall be exclusively applied to the following objects, to-wit: 

First. To the support and maintenance of common schools, 
in each school district, and the purchase of suitable libraries and 
apparatus therefor. 

Second. The residue shall be appropriated to the support and 
maintenance of Academies and Normal Schools, and suitable 
libraries and apparatus therefor. 

Section 3. The Legislature shall provide by law for the 
establishment of District Schools, which shall be as nearly uni- 
form as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without 
charge for tuition, to all children between the ages of four and 
twenty years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein. 

Section 4. Each town and city shall be required to raise, 
by tax, annually, for the support of common schools therein, a 
sum not less than one-half the amount received by such town or 
city respectively for school purposes from the income of the 
school fund. 

Section 5. Provision shall be made by law, for the distri- 
bution of the income of the school fund among the several towns 
and cities of the State, for the support of common schools therein, 
in some just proportion to the number of children and youth resi- 
dent therein, between the ages of four and twenty years, and 
no appropriation shall be made from the school fund to any city, or - 
town, for the year in which said citv or town shall fail to raise 
such tax; nor to anv school district for the year in which a 
school shall not be maintained at least three months. 

Section 6. Provision shall be made by law for the establish- 
ment of a State Universitv. at or near the peat of State p-overn- 
ment, and for connecting with the same, from time to time, such 
colleges in different parts of the State, as the interest of educa- 
tion may require. The proceeds of all lands that have been, or 
may hereafter be granted by the United States to the State for 
the support of a University, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, 
to be called "The Universitv Fund," the interest of which shal' 
be appropriated to the support of the State University, and no 
Sectarian instruction shall be allowed in sue]* University. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 131 

AETICLE XI. 

CORPORATION. 
***** 

Section 2. No municipal corporation shall take private prop- 
erty for public use against the consent of the owner, without the 
necessity thereof being first established by the verdict of a jury. 

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, and 
they are hereby empowered, to provide for the organization of 
cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of 
taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and 
loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and 
taxation, and in contracting by such municipal corporations. No 
county, city, town, village, school district, or other municipal cor- 
poration, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner or 
for any purpose, to. any amount, including existing indebtedness, 
in the aggregate exceeding ^.ve per centum on the value of the 
taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment 
for state and county taxes, previous to the incurring of such 
indebtedness. Any county, city, town, village, school district, or 
other municipal corporation, incurring any indebtedness as afore- 
said shall, before or at the time of doing so. provide for the col- 
lection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on said 
debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal 
thereof within twenty years from the time of contracting the same. 
* * * * * 

AETICLE XII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Consti- 
tution may be proposed to either house of the Legislature, and 
if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 
elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment, 
or amendments, shall be entered on their journals, with the 
yeas and nays. taken thereon, and referred to the Legislature to 
be chosen at the next general election; and shall be published for 
three months previous to the time of holding such election, and 
if, in the Legislature so next chosen, such proposed amendment, 
or amendments, shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members* 
elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature 
to submit such proposed amendment, or amendments, to the peo- 
ple in such manner, and at such time, as the Legislature shall 
prescribe; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amend- 
ment, or amendments, by a majority of the electors voting there- 
on, such amendment, or amendments, shall become part of the 
Constitution; Provided, that if more than one amendment be 
submitted, they shall be submitted in such manner that the people 
may vote for or against such amendments separately. 



122 ESSENTIALS OF 

Section 2. If at any time a majority of the Senate and 
Assembly shall deem it necessary to call a convention to revise 
or change this Constitution, they shall recommend to the electors 
to vote for or against a convention at the next election for mem- 
bers of the Legislature. And if it shall appear that a majoriy 
of the electors voting thereon, have voted for a convention, the 
Legislature shall, at its next session, provide for calling such 
convention. 

AKTICLE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

Section 2. Any inhabitant of this State who may hereafter 
be engaged, either directly or indirectly in a duel, either as prin- 
cipal or accessory, shall forever be disqualified as an elector, 
and from holding any office under the Constitution and laws of 
this State, and may be punished in such manner as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Section 3. No member of Congress, nor any person holding 
any office of profit or trust under the United States (Postmasters 
excepted) or under any foreign power; no person convicted of 
any infamous crime in any court within the United States; and 
no person being a defaulter to the United States or to this State, 
or to any county, or town therein, or to any State, or Territory 
within the United States, shall be eligible to any office of trust, 
profit, or honor in this State. 

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide 
a great seal for the State, which shall be kept by the Secretary 
of State, and all official acts of the Governor, his approbation 
of the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated. 

Section 5. All persons residing upon Indian lands, within 
any county of the State, and qualified to exercise the right of 
suffrage under this Constitution, shall be entitled to vote at 
the polls which may be held nearest their residence, for State, 
United States or County officers. Provided, that no person shall 
vote for county officers out of the county in which he resides. 

Section 6. The elective officers of the Legislature, other than 
the presiding officers, shall be a chief clerk and a sergeant-at- 
arms, to be elected by each house. 

Section 7. No county with an area of nine hundred square 
miles, or less, shall be divided, or have any part stricken there- 
from, without submitting the question to a vote of the people of 
the county, nor unless a majority of all the legal voters of the 
county, voting on the question, shall vote for the same. 

Section 8. No county seat shall be removed until the point 
to which it is proposed to be removed shall be fixed by law, and 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 123 

a majority of the voters of the county, voting on the question, 
shall have voted in favor of its removal to such point. 



Section 11. No person, association, co-partnership or corpora- 
tion, shall promise, offer, or give, for any purpose, to any po- 
litical committee, or any member or employe thereof, to any 
candidate for, or incumbent of any office or position under the 
constitution or laws, or under any ordinance of any town or 
municipality of this state, or to any person at the request or for 
the advantage of all, or any of them, any free pass or frank, or 
any privilege withheld from any person, for the traveling ac- 
commodation or transportation of any person or property, or 
the transmission of any message or communication. No political 
committee, and no member or employe thereof, no candidate for, 
and no incumbent of any office or position under the constitution 
or laws, or under any ordinance of any town or municipality of 
this state, shall ask for, or accept, from any person, association, 
co-partnership, or corporation, or use, in any manner, or for any 
purpose, any free pass or frank, or any privilege withheld from 
any person, for the traveling accommodation or transportation of 
any person or property, or the transmission of any message or 
communication. Any violation of any of the above provisions 
shall be bribery and be punished as provided by law, and if any 
officer or any member of the Legislature be guilty thereof, his 
office shall become vacant. No person within the purview of 
this act shall be privileged from testifying in relation to any- 
thing therein prohibited ; and no person having so testified shall 
be liable to any prosecution or punishment for any offense con- 
cerning which he was required to give his testimony or produce 
any documentary evidence. The railroad commissioner and his 
deputy in the discharge of duty are excepted from the provisions 
of this amendment. 



THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE 



THE COMMON COUNCIL 

The legislative department of the city is called the 
Common Council and is composed of thirty-seven members 
called Aldermen, one elected by the voters in each ward, 
elected for two years, and twelve at large, elected for four 
years, half of them elected each two years. The Council 
choses a President from its own membership, who presides 
at the meetings and acts as Vice-Mayor. The Council 
choses a clerk, who is not a member; he is known as the 
City Clerk. An Alderman's salary is $1,000 a year. 

Eegular meetings are held every two weeks ; a majority 
is a quorum. Committees appointed by the President pre- 
pare business for the Council. Citizens interested in city 
legislation may attend committee meetings and address the 
members. Meetings of the Council are also public. 

The Council makes appointments (usually in co-opera- 
tion with the Mayor), changes ward boundaries, receives re- 
ports from officers, and enacts laws for the government of 
the city; these laws are called Ordinances, and they cover 
a great variety of subjects, such as the conduct of indi- 
viduals, and corporations in matters not provided for by 
State laws, include such matters as the regulation of 
saloons, billiard halls, shows, theatres, weights and meas- 
ures, breweries, packing houses, tanneries, speed of vehicles, 
height of buildings, explosives, contagious diseases, fire- 
BTTfle, street lighting, naming of streets, numbering of 

124 



CIVIL GOVEKNMENT 125 

houses, harbors, collection of garbage, and many more. The 
general purpose of ordinances is public safety and con- 
venience. 

A majority of the Council passes an ordinance, the 
Mayor signs it, the Clerk records it and it is published in 
one or more papers; it is then a law of the city. 51 The 
Mayor has five days in which to consider an ordinance; 
two-thirds of the Council may over-rule his veto. 

The Council has also certain large powers by which it 
may build bridges, lay sewers, extend streets, establish 
water-works, lighting plants, and street car lines, erect 
public buildings, locate and maintain parks and boule- 
vards, establish and maintain libraries, museums, etc. 
The city is not compelled to do all these things itself. It 
grants permission to corporations to do some of them; 
such a grant is called a franchise. 

Before January 1, each year the Council prepares a 
budget or estimate of the amount of money needed to run 
the various departments of the city government for the 
next year; it levies taxes, controls city funds, pays out 
the city's money, borrows money, issues bonds, examines 
accounts, etc. But in all financial matters the Council is 
limited by the Charter, which is a grant of power made by 
the State Legislature to the city. 

THE MAYOR 

The chief executive is the Mayor, who is elected for 
two years. It is his duty to see that the laws are enforced 
and that the city officers perform their duties. He is 



si On a question of issuing bonds a two-thirds vote is neces- 
sary. For some purposes bonds may be issued by the Council 
without a vote of the people. 



126 ESSENTIALS OF 

nominally head of the police and fire departments, but 
the appointment of policemen and firemen is under a com- 
mission, and at the head of each of these departments is 
a chief who can be removed only by the action of the 
commission. In case of riot the Mayor, with the Chief 
of Police, may appoint special policemen. 

The Mayor has the power of appointment (with ap- 
proval of the Council) of many officials. His actual power 
is not great, but he has many supervisory duties. He has 
a limited veto on the acts of the Common Council. 

TAXATION AND FINANCE 

Assessments are made in May by district assessors acting 
under the Tax Commissioner. These are examined and 
corrected by a Board of Assessors. A Board of Eeview con- 
sisting of the Mayor, City Clerk, Tax Commissioner and the 
Assessors, again revises the assessments, reducing assess- 
ments that are found to be too high and increasing those 
that are too low. Then the lists are deposited with the Tax 
Commissioner, who makes out a tax roll or schedule of 
taxes, showing how much each person taxed must pay. This 
is sent to the Treasurer, who receives and keeps the money to 
be paid out for the various city expenses. Orders on the 
Treasurer must be signed by the Mayor and Clerk and 
countersigned by the Comptroller. If a person does not- 
pay his taxes his real estate is sold in February by the 
Treasurer ; it may be redeemed within three years by paying 
the tax plus ten per cent per year for the time it remained 
unpaid. 

THE COMPTROLLER 

A Comptroller is elected by the people. He examines 
the books of the Treasurer, audits claims, examines and 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 127 

countersigns contracts, bonds, and city orders. It is an 
office of great importance, for if the Comptroller should be 
dishonest or inefficient fraud becomes easy. 

THE PUBLIC DEBT COMMISSION 

In 1857 the city was almost bankrupt because of extrav- 
agance. A Commission of three members was established 
to have charge of this part of the city's finances ; the mem- 
bers are appointed by the Mayor. It has charge of the 
sinking fund, which is the money set aside to pay the debt 
as the bonds come due ; it superintends the issue and sale of 
bonds and pays the interest on them. The city debt is 
limited by the State Constitution to five per cent of the 
assessed valuation, based on the average of the preceding 
five years. The bonded debt is now (1917) nearly sixteen 
million dollars. This amounts to about $35 apiece for 
each inhabitant. 

TAX COMMISSIONER 

This officer is appointed by the Mayor and Council for 
a term of three years. He supervises the assessment and 
appoints one assessor for each of 16 assessment districts to 
list the value of the property. 

COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS 

A Commissioner of Public Works is appointed by the 
Mayor and Council; he has supervision of streets, alleys, 
bridges, docks, public buildings and grounds, sewers, dredg- 
ing and other public work. He has a deputy and six super- 
intendents. 

The work of the City Engineer is closely related to that 
of the Department of Public Works and to the Water De- 
partment. The city owns and operates the waterworks, con- 



128 ESSENTIALS OF 

sequently the price of water in Milwaukee is exceptionally 
low, and even at the low rate charged, a large surplus from 
the water fund is applied each year to the expenses of other 
departments of the city government; the Water Depart- 
ment is thus used as a means of taxation for general pur- 

P° ses ' ...■_;. S il i 

HEALTH COMMISSIONER 

This officer is appointed by the Mayor and Council ; he 
has charge of matters pertaining to health and sanitation ; 
enforces quarantine ordinances ; may vaccinate school chil- 
dren, or enter any building to find out conditions of sanita- 
tion; may destroy clothing or food which is dangerous to 
public health. This department also issues burial permits, 
and keeps a record of vital statistics, that is, facts concern- 
ing the number of cases of various diseases and deaths from 
the same, also births. Physicians are required to report to 
this department. 

BUILDING INSPECTOR 

This officer is appointed by the Mayor and Council for 
a term of four years. He acts for the city in the enforce- 
ment of the building ordinances and of regulations per- 
taining to bill boards, signs and elevators. 

THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT 

A City Attorney is elected for four years. He gives 
advice and opinions when requested by city officials, con- 
ducts the law business in which the city is interested and 
draws up ordinances, bonds and contracts. He appoints 
his own assistants and is responsible for the acts of his 
assistants. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 129 

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT 

A Chief of Police is appointed by the Board of Police 
and Fire Commissioners. There are five of these Commis- 
sioners appointed by the Mayor for a term of five years. 
Besides the Chief there are an inspector, a captain, six 
lieutenants, also detectives, sergeants, and patrolmen. 
These are appointed by the Board, with the advice of the 
Chief. 

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT 

The Board of Police and Fire Commissioners appoints 
a Chief, assistants and firemen. The Chiefs of the Eire and 
Police departments have power to discharge men from the 
service, but an appeal may be taken to the board. The 
Mayor is theoretically the head of these departments, but 
practically his relation to them is little more than ad- 
visory. 

THE BOARD OF SCHOOL. DIRECTORS 

This Board is very nearly independent of the rest of the 
city government. It reports to the Council annually, the 
Council levies the taxes for the schools, but the School Di- 
rectors say how much it shall be, 52 and the Comptroller 
audits its expenditures. But in all other matters the 
Board of School Directors manages its own affairs. There 
are fifteen directors elected by general vote for terms of 
six years, one-third going out of office every two years; 
they receive a per diem salary, the total not to exceed $100 
a year for each member, and can hold no other office except 
that of notary public or a judicial office. The Board fills 

52 The State law fixes a limit to the amount which the Di- 
rectors may levy: For maintenance, 2-7 mills on the dollar of as- 
sessed valuation; for repairs, .3 mills; for the Trade School, .3 
mills; for extension work, .2 mills. 



130 ESSENTIALS OF 

vacancies in its own body, the appointee holding until 
the next election. Begular meetings of the Board are 
held monthly. This Board provides school buildings and 
equipment and elects a Superintendent for a term of 
three years, also a Secretary who, because of a peculiar 
wording of the law, has a life tenure unless removed for 
cause by a two-thirds vote of the Board ; a Superintendent 
of Buildings is also chosen by the Directors. The Superin- 
tendent of Schools appoints his own assistants. He is an 
advisory member of all committees. 

Besides keeping the record of meetings and expenses, 
the Secretary takes the school census and keeps the Comp- 
troller informed as to school finances. He is the business 
manager for the Board. 

Most of the work of this Board is done through com- 
mittees appointed by its President; the President and 
the Secretary sign all contracts and the Comptroller coun- 
tersigns them. 

The expenses of maintaining the public schools is very 
great — more than three million dollars a year, plus the cost 
of new buildings. But there is no tax which the people 
pay more cheerfully than the tax for the public schools. 
The most progressive and enlightened nations spend vast 
sums for public education. The people of the United 
States pay out much more each year for war than for 
education. 

PUBLIC LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 

These institutions are housed in one fine building, and 
there are also branches of the Library in different parts 
of the city. The Public Library and Museum are sup- 
ported by public taxes and each is under the management 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 131 

and control of a Board of Trustees of nine members. The 
President of the Board of School Directors and the Super- 
intendent of Public Schools are ex-officio members of these 
boards. By the Charter the Public Library is made a part 
of the educational system of Milwaukee. 

INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION 

There is a Board of Industrial Education, four mem- 
bers chosen by the Board of School Directors and one ex- 
officio member, the Superintendent of Schools. This board 
has charge of the education of children over fourteen years 
old who are employed at work and who are required to 
spend a part of each week in school. This department also 
conducts night schools for adults and schools for 
apprentices. 

THE PARK COMMISSIONERS 

A Board of Park Commissioners is appointed by the 
Mayor and Council. There are five members, and their 
term is five years ; they receive no salary. This Board se- 
lects park sites, and when these are purchased for the city 
by the Common Council, the Commissioners appoint super- 
intendents to look after the improvement and care of the 
parks. 

CENTRAL BOARD OF PURCHASES 

This board is made up of the Mayor, two members of 
the Council and representatives from six other boards and 
commissions. It purchases the supplies for the various de- 
partments of the city government. 

BUREAU OP WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 

This is in charge of an officer appointed by the Mayor 
and known as the Sealer. He has under him inspectors 



132 ESSENTIALS OF 

who examine the scales and measures used by merchants, 
and if any weights or measures are incorrect it is the duty 
of the Sealer to confiscate and destroy them. 

COURTS 

The City government of Milwaukee has no judicial 
department. The courts that are in the city are a part of 
the County, State or Federal system. But there are two 
courts that have a municipal origin — the District Court 
and the Municipal Court, each having one judge. They 
both have criminal jurisdiction. Most of the graver crimes 
committed in the city are tried in the Municipal, minor 
offenses in the District Court, which is sometimes called 
the Police Court; violations of city ordinances are tried 
here; disorderly conduct is usually the offense. On cer- 
tain days of each week, one judge, selected by the other 
judges, tries juvenile offenders; this is called the Juvenile 
Court. 

What is known as the Civil Court is peculiar to Mil- 
waukee County. There are seven Civil Court Judges, and 
their jurisdiction is similar to that of Justices of the Peace 
in other counties, but more extensive, including cases in 
which the amount involved is $2,000 or less. One of the 
Civil Judges is called the Chief Judge; he arranges the 
court calendar. 

PURPOSE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 

In general, the purpose for which municipal govern- 
ment exists is to promote the safety and convenience of 
the citizens, to do those things which may be done more 
economically and efficiently by all the people acting to- 
gether than by individual effort, and to make the city a 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 133 

desirable and beautiful place in which to live. The ten- 
dency among the most progressive cities in every civilized 
country is to increase the number of enterprises in which 
the municipality engages to accomplish these ends. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What officer of the Council is not a member of that 
body? 

2. Who may attend meetings of the Council and of its com- 
mittees? 

3. What are some of the subjects which the Council may 
regulate by ordinances? 

4. What is a charter? A budget? A franchise? 

5. What are the duties of the Sealer? 

6. What powers does the Mayor have? 

7. What is an assessment, and when is the property assessed 
for taxation? 

8. What occurs in case a person does not pay his tax? 

9. Define audit. What officer audits claims against the city? 

10. To what department must report be made in case of con- 
tagious disease? 

11. If you wanted to put up a building in the city to what 
department would you apply? 

12. What are the chief duties of the City Attornev? 

13. Who appoints the Chief of Police and the Chief of the 
Fire Department? 

14. What department is nearly independent of the rest of the 
city government; and what are its chief duties? 

15. What public officer holds his position practically for life? 

16. What organic relation is there between the Public Library 
and Museum and the public school system? 

17. If a person owes you $500 and refuses to pay it, in what 
court could you bring suit? 

18. What is the Juvenile Court, and what offenders are tried 
there? 

GENERAL, REVIEW QUESTIONS 

1. What kind of power, original or delegated, is exercised 
by the Federal government? By the State? By the City? 

2. In a democracy, is voting a right or a privilege? In a 
monarchy or an aristocracy? 

3. What was the Ordinance of 1787? 

4. What is meant by a Congressman at large? 

5. What is an indirect tax? 



134 ESSENTIALS OE CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

6. Can you see any good reason for the prohibition as to 
the Sheriff in Article VI, Section 4 of the State constitution? 

7. What officers may the Governor remove from office? 

8. What is an ex post facto law? 

9. Persons belonging to what races are debarred from natural- 
ization? 

10. If a State should have its Governor appoint its Presi- 
dential Electors, would that method be constitutional? 

13. What is the constitutional designation of what is popularly 
called the "President's Cabinet"? 

14. About how large is the interest-bearing debt of the Fed- 
eral government? 

15. United States Eepresentatives are usually chosen by dis- 
tricts; if the people of the Fourth District (Milwaukee County) 
should elect to Congress a citizen living in Superior (in the 
Eleventh District) would that violate the Constitution? 

16. What is the punishment for dueling in Wisconsin? 

17. What constitutional restriction is placed on the removal of 
county seats? 

18. What does the State constitution provide in regard to the 
use of railroad passes and dead-head telegrams? 

19. For how long may a farm be leased in Wisconsin? (Art. 
I, Sec. 14.) 

20. Who owns all the land in Wisconsin? (Art. IX, Sec. 3.) 

21. What railway has the most mileage in the State? 

22. Suppose that a citizen desires to correct some abuse or 
neglect by a railway or express company, how should he go 
about it? 

23. Name three purposes for wlhich municipal government 
exists. 

24. Name five professions or occupations for which licenses 
must be obtained. 



HOW TO RUN A PUBLIC MEETING 



?3 



When it is time to open the meeting, any one present 
— usually one of those who called the meeting — calls the 
meeting to order and nominates some one for President; 
or he may say : "dominations for President are in order. 

When a nomination is made, the one who called the 
meeting to order — or if he is nominated, then the one 

making the nomination — says : "Those in favor of Mr. 

for President say aye." "Those opposed, no/' If there 
should be more than one nominee the vote should be taken 
by standing or by a show of hands. The one who puts 
the motion decides who has been elected, and this will 
stand as the act of the body, unless an appeal to the house 
should be taken. 

The one elected should then take the place of Chair- 
man of the meeting, and announce that the election of 
a Secretary is in order. When the Secretary is elected 
the meeting is ready to transact business. If the meeting 
was called by a written notice, the call should be read by 
the Secretary, otherwise the President should state the 
object of the meeting, or call upon some one to do so. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS 

The by-laws of a permanently organized body fix an 
order of business, that is, the order in which the different 
kinds of business shall be taken up at each meeting. The 
usual order for a first meeting is as follows : 

135 



136 ESSENTIALS OF 

1. Call to order. 

2. Election of temporary president and secretary. 

3. Reading the call or stating the purpose of the meeting:. 

4. Appointment of a committee on permanent organization. 

5. Eecess or informal talks while the committee is getting 
ready to report a plan of permanent organization. 

6. Report of committee on organization. 

7. Appointment of committees. 

8. Election of permanent officers. 

9. Communications. 

10. Reports of committees. 

11. Business. 

12. Adjournment. 

No subject can come before a deliberative body unless 
a motion is made by a member and seconded by another 
member. 

A viva voce vote is a vote in which the response "aye" 
and then the response "no" are given, each in concert. 
But a vote by- "ayes" and "noes" is taken by roll-call, each 
member responding "aye" or "no" as his name is called. 

When a viva voce vote is taken, if the Chairman is un- 
certain of the result, he should say: "The ayes" (or the 
noes, as the case may be) "seem to have it." After a 
brief pause, if no one calls for a division, he should then 
say: "The ayes" (or the noes) "have it." But if a 
member calls for a division the vote must then be taken by 
standing or by a show of hands. 

Motions are of two general classes, (1) The main ques- 
tion, (2) Subsidiary motions. 

Subsidiary motions are of four different ranks, as 
follows : 

First "Rank — Question of consideration: not amendable and 
not debatable, armlies only to the main question. 

Second Rank- — Motion to lay on the table: not amendable 
and not debatable. 

Third Rank — Motion to postpone to a certain day; amendable 
and debatable. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 137 

Motion for the previous question: not amendable and not 
debatable. 

Motion to commit: debatable and amendable. 

Motion to postpone indefinitely: not amendable; debatable as 
to itself and opens up the main question for debate. 

The four motions of the third rank have no precedence over 
one another, and when any one of these four is pending it 
must be disposed of before another can be entertained. 

Fourth Bank — Motion to amend: debatable and amendable. 

Privileged Questions: 

First, to adjourn. 

Second, to fix the time to which the assembly will adjourn. 

Third, to take recess. 

Fourth, questions relating to the rights and privileges of the 
assembly. 

Fifth, questions relating to the rights and privileges of in- 
dividual members. 

Incidental Questions : 

First, questions of order. 

Second, reading of papers. 

Third, withdrawal of a motion. 

Fourth, suspension of a rule. 

Fifth, division of a question. 

The main question is the topic or subject of delibera- 
tion, and may be the motion of a member or the report of 
a committee. 

Subsidiary motions are those which are used to dis- 
pose of the main question, and relate to the progress of 
that particular subject. They are not all of the same rank, 
which means that some yield to others. Those of higher 
rank precede those of lower rank ; those of the same rank 
or order have no precedence over each other, — "first come, 
first served." These subsidiary motions look towards the 
disposal of the main question by ascertaining in various 
ways the will or opinion of the assembly. 

To illustrate: A motion has been made, seconded and 
stated by the chairman; it is then in possession of the 
assembly. The assembly may or may not care to spend 



138 ESSENTIALS OF 

time on the question; the question of consideration will 
register the opinion of the assembly on that point. An 
affirmative vote on the question of consideration makes the 
question upon which consideration was raised, the busi- 
ness before the assembly. A negative vote dismisses the 
whole matter for that session. The object of the question 
of consideration is not to suppress debate, but to prevent 
a waste of time on questions which may be irrelevant, un- 
profitable, or contentious. The question of consideration 
must be moved, if at all, before any debate has been made 
on the main question before the house. 

The subsidiary motion of second rank is the motion to 
lay on the table. It takes precedence of all subsidiary mo- 
tions of the third and fourth ranks. It is neither amend- 
able nor debatable, for it puts the question to which it is 
applied (if decided in the affirmative) out of the way for 
the immediate present only. The question laid on the table 
may be taken up at any time, even a few minutes later, 
if a majority so decide. The object of the motion is to put 
the subject aside in such a way that it may be taken up at 
any time, either at the same, or some future meeting, which 
could not be accomplished by either of the postponement 
motions : 

There are four subsidiary motions of the third rank. 
They have no precedence over one another. The one which 
has been first moved must be disposed of before any of the 
others will be in order. For example, if a motion to 
commit (that is to refer to a committee) is pending, a 
motion to postpone would not be in order. So, also, if 
either of the postponement motions is pending, a motion 
to commit, or for the previous question, cannot be received. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 139 

A motion for the previous question is neither amendable 
nor debatable. Why? Its object (to close debate) would 
be defeated were the motion amendable or debatable. 

Often the nature of the question is such as to demand 
the labor and investigation of a select few, known as a 
committee. The motion to secure this end is called the 
motion to commit or refer. The motion to commit is de- 
batable as to itself, but does not open the main question 
to debate, since that will be in order when the committee 
reports. The motion to commit is amendable; there may 
be different opinions as to the number of the committee, 
or as to committing with or without instructions. 

The motion for indefinite postponement gives the ene- 
mies of a measure an opportunity to test their strength 
without a direct vote on the question itself. An affirma- 
tive vote on the motion to postpone indefinitely defeats 
the measure to which the motion was applied. Since an 
affirmative vote on the motion to postpone indefinitely 
may decide the question, the merits of the motion must be 
open for discussion, otherwise the main question would 
be decided without debate. 

The subsidiary motions of the first, second and third 
ranks are methods by which an assembly may dispose of 
the main question in the different stages of its progress 
and lay it aside permanently or temporarily. 

By the subsidiary motion of the fourth rank, the as- 
sembly may modify the main question so that it will rep- 
resent the judgment of the majority of the assembly. 
Without the right to amend, a deliberative body would 
be obliged to do one of two things, either of which might 
not express the will of the assembly. To adopt a proposi- 



140 ESSENTIALS OF 

tion in a form not satisfactory, or to reject one which in 
many features was satisfactory. The motion to amend is 
necessarily debatable, since its purpose is to shape and fit 
the main motion for passage by the assembly. 

The main question and the subsidiary motions all re- 
late strictly to the progress of some particular business 
before the assembly. There are other motions which do 
not concern themselves with the progress of the main ques- 
tion, but with the existence of the assembly as a working 
body, its peace and good order. They relate to the main 
question only in so far as they delay action by taking up 
time. These motions which do not relate to the business 
before the assembly have precedence over all others. This 
is because they are essential to the existence of the as- 
sembly as a deliberative body. No parliamentary body can 
continue work indefinitely. Therefore, the right to adjourn 
or to have a recess, or to name the time to which the body 
will adjourn, is a right inherent in every such body. The 
assembly as a whole or one of its members may be sub- 
jected to indignity or attack which might seriously inter- 
fere with the progress of work. If the assembly could not 
set itself right, it might cease to exist; hence there arise 
questions of privilege, enumerated above. The first three 
motions are called privileged motions, and the last two 
questions of privilege. 

Let us suppose a series of motions pending : 

1. Main question. 

2. Amendment. 

3. Amendment to amendment. 

4. Call for previous question. 

5. Question of privilege. 

6. Motion to adjourn. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 141 

In disposing of these, more may arise. The last motion 
made is the first put : that is, they are put in reverse order. 
First the motion to adjourn, if decided in the affirmative 
stops all work by dissolving the assembly. If negatived, 
then comes the question of privilege, then the previous 
question and so on, the main question last. 



RECENT TENDENCIES AND 
MOVEMENTS 



On matters pertaining to government, the old politi- 
cal parties do not clearly represent the present division of 
opinion among the American people. There are two views 
of government which divide the people into what are called 
progressives 53 and conservatives; these are not organized 
groups or parties, but types of political thought. 

The progressives, as the name indicates, want to go 
forward, make progress, and bring about changes; they 
are willing to make experiments, believing that in this way 
the people will work improvements in the government. 

Conservative comes from the word conserve, which 
means to save, preserve or keep without change. The 
conservatives prefer to let governmental matters remain 
as they are and to make changes very slowly and cautiously 
if at all. They fear that if changes are made the people 
may be too rash and may not act wisely. 

The subjects on which these two classes of thinkers 
differ are chiefly those pertaining to the amount of power 
which the people should exercise by direct legislation, that 
is, by popular vote instead of indirectly through repre- 



ss The word ' i progressive ' ; as used above refers to a type of 
political thinkers, not to the organization known as the Progres- 
sive party. The present national parties that have elected presi- 
dential electors are the Democratic, the Progressive and the Re- 
publican. There are two other national parties that have had 
presidential candidates, the Social Democratic and the Prohibi- 
tionist, each of which casts a large popular vote. 

142 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 143 

sentatives. In general it may be said that the progressives 

favor and the conservatives oppose the following : 

Direct primary nominations. 

The initiative, referendum and recall. 

Strict government control or ownership of public util- 
ities. 

Progressives and conservatives are found in both the 
Democratic and the Eepublican parties. The progressives 
are popularly called ''insurgents" and the conservatives 
"standpatters." 54 

The nomination of candidates by a direct primary vote 
of the people instead of by delegates in a convention is now 
the method employed in many states; one of the earliest 
states to adopt this method was Wisconsin. 

It is worthy of note that the election of President has 
become virtually an election by popular vote and not by 
the Electors exercising their own judgment as was intend- 
ed by the framers of the Federal Constitution. This was 
accomplished through the organization of parties and the 
nomination of candidates through national conventions. 

The Initiative is a method by which a small percentage 
of the voters, usually from five to eight per cent, may pro- 
pose a measure, which if approved by a majority at the 
next election, becomes a law the same as if it had 



'•+ At the present time (1917) the conservatives make up a 
considerable part of the Democratic party, most of the Eepublican 
party and a few of the Prohibition party. The progressives con- 
stitute the larger part of the Democratic party, all of the Pro- 
gressive party, all of the Social Democratic party, and some of 
the Prohibition party. There is a strong and growing disposition 
among independent voters to shift readily from one party to an- 
other, according to whether one or another organization at the 
time represents their views. 



144 ESSENTIALS OF 

been enacted by the Legislature. This enables the voters 
to act independently of the Legislature in case that body 
does not pass laws which the people want. The voters can 
thus begin (initiate) legislation, hence the name. 

The Beferendum is a law providing that within a cer- 
tain time, usually three months, after the adjournment 
of the Legislature any law passed by that Legislature may 
be "held up," that is, prevented from becoming operative, 
if a certain per cent of the voters, usually from five 
to eight per cent, sign a petition asking for a referendum 
vote on the measure, in which case the law remains in- 
operative until the next general election when the people 
adopt or reject it by popular vote. This is sometimes called 
the people's veto. 

The Initiative and Beferendum are called Direct Legis- 
lation. They increase very much the power of the people 
in making their own laws. They apply also to the amend- 
ment of constitutions. Those who favor these methods of 
making laws believe that Direct Legislation is a safe- 
guard of the people's rights against legislators who re- 
fuse to enact laws which the people want, or who enact 
laws which the people do not want. Without such a system 
a law passed by a Legislature, however much the people 
may dislike it, is in force until the next Legislature re- 
peals it, and the next Legislature also might not act in 
accordance with the wish of the people. It is argued by 
the progressives that the need of Direct Legislation is 
the greater because in recent years lawmakers have so 
often been influenced by corrupt motives and private in- 
terests rather than a regard for the public good. The 
conservatives argue that laws should be framed and enacted 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 145 

by experts rather than by the common people; that it is 
not safe to give the people so much direct power lest they 
enact harmful laws; and that if the constitution can be 
amended too easily the people may change it to their own 
hurt. The conservative says we should be guided by the 
wisdom of the framers of our government and of former 
lawmakers, and thus conserve the good things of the past 
approved by the wisdom of the ages. The progressive says 
we should look to the present and the future rather than 
to the past, and be governed by the living generation rather 
than by those that are dead ; that 

"New occasions teach new duties; 
Time makes ancient good uncouth. 
They must upward still and onward 
Who would keep abreast of truth." 

Direct Legislation has been in operation for about 

ninety years in Switzerland, and for about a generation 

in Australia and New Zealand. The first American State 

to adopt it was South Dakota, in 1898. Since then it has 

been adopted in about twenty other states. 

The Recall is a law by which an officer can be re- 
moved from office and another election held to fill the posi- 
tion if a petition for his removal be signed by a certain 
per cent of the voters, usually twenty-five per cent. This 
is intended to give the people the power to remove an un- 
worthy officer before his term expires without the difficult 
process of impeachment. Many states have the Recall. 
The people of Arizona framed a constitution which pro- 
vided for the Initiative, Referendum and Recall; it was 
approved by Congress by a very large majority but vetoed 
by President Taf t because the Recall applied also to judges ; 
but so strongly progressive were the people of Arizona 

10 



146 ESSENTIALS OF 

that the first act of the State after admission was to re- 
store to their constitution the Eecall which they had cut 
out in order to secure admission. 

The tendency toward direct legislation by the people 
is shown also in the recent movement in some states to 
make constitutions more easily amended. The more easily 
a constitution can be changed the more promptly can the 
voters express their will. To make a constitution as easily 
changed as any other law would be practically the same 
as to abolish the written constitution, and some thoughtful 
men believe that this would be a good thing to do. Others 
look upon the written constitution as a sort of foundation 
on which government rests and without which there would 
be no guarantee of its continued existence. 

Written constitutions originally grew out of those 
charters or guarantees that were granted by the sovereign 
as a safeguard of the people against their rulers. The 
Magna Charta, by which King John was forced to give 
the people a guarantee that certain rights and privileges 
should be enjoyed and safeguarded against encroachment 
by the sovereign, is a famous illustration of this. But 
when a people becomes entirely self-governing, there is 
no need of safeguards to protect the people against the 
rulers, for the people themselves are their own rulers, and 
they need no protection against themselves. Therefore 
the chief value that attaches to a written constitution is 
to serve as a sort of declaration of principles setting forth 
what the people at the time of its adoption believe to be 
right, and as a schedule or program for the routine ma- 
chinery of government ; in regard to both these features the 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 147 

people may change their views and ma)' change the con- 
stitution accordingly. 

Many self-governing peoples, such as Great Britain and 
her colonies, have no written constitutions ; they look upon 
a written constitution as a hindrance to progress and 
growth, an unnecessary check on the power of the people. 
The ease with which constitutions can now be changed in 
those States which have the Initiative and Referendum 
removes all the objections that have been made to written 
constitutions on the ground that they impede progress and 
handicap the evolution of democracy. 

On the other hand, it is still held by some that con- 
stitutions should be difficult to amend lest the people make 
rash and unwise changes in their government; that the 
people of one generation may properly bind those that come 
after them to certain forms of governmental machinery, 
not to be changed without long and mature deliberation; 
that the people need this anchorage to the past as a pro- 
tection against themselves. To this, the other school of 
civic thought replies that among English speaking nations 
the people are notably conservative, slow to change, cling- 
ing tenaciously to established customs and modes of pro- 
cedure, and that this native reluctance to change is a very 
powerful force that will prevent rash or ill-considered 
action ; that in those countries in which there are no consti- 
tutional checks on the people's will and in those states in 
which the constitutions are easily amendable the people 
have always moved slowly and cautiously in changing their 
laws. 

In the changes that have been wrought in American 
government, the movement has always been toward plac- 



148 ESSENTIALS OF 

ing greater power in the hands of the people and admitting 
more of the people to the right of voting; and this ten- 
dency at present is stronger than ever before, except that 
in most of the Southern States the franchise is practically 
limited to the whites. 

The framers of the Federal government had little con- 
ception of a popular government, and they did not desire 
to establish a plan in which the rule of the people by the 
people should be the central idea. The leaders of that day 
did not trust the people, and feared to put into their hands 
the power to rule themselves. Therefore they framed a 
government very far removed from the popular or people's 
power type. Most of them agreed with the sentiment ex- 
pressed by the statesman who declared there was "danger 
lest liberty should perish through excess of liberty." 

It is no discredit to the men of that time that they en- 
tertained such fears, the world's history down to the nine- 
teenth century furnished no example of a people ruling 
themselves through the exercise of general suffrage; they 
and their ancestors had been accustomed to a form of gov- 
ernment in which the most of the people did not partici- 
pate but in which the laws were made by the few — the 
supposedly wise and good who were believed to be es- 
pecially fitted for such an important function. 55 It is not 
surprising, therefore, that they made for us an appointive, 
rather than a democratic government, nor is it strange 
that the plan was ratified by the legislative representatives 
of the very small fraction of the people who at that time 
had the legal right to vote. 



55 When the question is asked, whether the people — or any 
particular people — are fit for self-government, another question 
calls for an answer : " Is any person fit to be a despot 1 ' ' 



CIVIL GOVEENMENT 149 

The right to vote in this country was not always as 
general as it now is. At the present time about one out 
of every five of the population (not counting our conquered 
subjects) has the legal right to vote; but as late as the 
year 1800, only about one in thirty had that right. Prop- 
erty qualifications in some form were required in all the 
states, and in most of them those only could vote who held 
real estate. In some States religious tests also were ap- 
plied; in one state a man could vote for local officers if 
he occupied a house of certain dimensions, and if he lived 
in a house of larger size he could vote for State officers 
also. General manhood suffrage was not the rule until 
about sixty years after the Federal government was es- 
tablished, and the property test was not abolished in all 
the states until near the beginning of the twentieth century. 

This movement to extend the suffrage is still going on, 
notably in the- movement to enfranchise women, a move- 
ment which has made great progress in recent years. 

In about a fourth of the States women have the full 
franchise and in several others they have what is called 
"Presidential Suffrage"; in these States women may vote 
for Presidential Electors, Congressman, and nearly all local 
or municipal officers, also on school matters and bond 
issues. In Wisconsin, a law to extend the suffrage does 
not require constitutional amendment, but the action of the 
Legislature must be ratified by a popular vote. Several 
attempts have been made to give women the risfht to vot<\ 
but although in many ways the State is "progressive," it 
remains "conservative" on this subject. 

The motto of the State of Wisconsin, which appears rm 
the great seal of the State, is "Forward," and the citizens 



150 ESSENTIALS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

of the State have usually shown themselves to be in har- 
mony with the spirit of this motto. In civic matters as 
in material, educational, and ethical our yesterdays and 
to-days should be stepping-stones to better to-morrows, for, 
in the words of Cardinal Newman, "To stand still is to 
die: to live is to change; and to be perfect is to have 
changed many times." 



INDEX 



Absence and state citizenship, 
109 

Adjournment of Congress, 19 

Administration of Federal 
government not democratic, 
8 

Ad valorum duty, 36 

Agriculture, Secretary not in 
presidential succession, 49 
n. 

Agricultural schools, 101 

Alaska purchase, 65 

Aldermen, 83, 124 

Aliens, when women citizens 
become, 39; property rights 
of, 108 

Ambassadors, appointment of, 
51; children of, 74 n. 

Amendments, to U. S. consti- 
tution, 66; to Wisconsin 
constitution, 121 

Appellate jurisdiction, 59 

Appointments, confirmation, 
53 

Apportionment, Representa- 
tives, 13; Senators and As- 
semblymen, 110 

Arbitration, tribunal of, 118 

Aristocracy, 7 

Articles of Confederation, 11 

Arizona, constitution rejected, 
145 

Armies and navies, expense, 7 

Army, 34; support of, 3 3 

Arrest, Congressmen privi- 
leged, 21 

Assemblies, peaceable, 70, 106 

Assembly, members, 86, 110 

Assemblymen, rules, 110 



Assessments and taxes, 92-94 
Assessors, 81, 127 
Associate justices, U. S., 57 
Attainder, prohibited, 40, 107 
Attendance, school, required, 

101 
Attorney general, 88, 115 

B 

Bail, excessive, 71, 107 

Ballot, voting by, 109; on ma- 
chine, 97 

Bankruptcy law, 29, 31 

Base line, 8 

Bills, "killing," 25; how 
passed, 22, 25; legislative, 
8 6, 111; local and private, 
111 

Board of control, 102; educa- 
tion, 84; health, 81; public 
works, 81; review, 93 

Bonds, U. S., 29; interest, 35; 
not taxed, 9 5 

Breakwaters, 30 

Bryce, James, quoted, 9 

Building inspector, 123 

Blind, school for, 102 

Blue Book, 103, 104 

Budget, 125 



Cabinet, 5 2 

Candidates at primary, 98 

Capitation tax, 41 

Captures, 33 

Caucus, Congressional, 24 

Census, Federal, 14; State, 

110; school, 130 
Character, injury to, 107 
Charitable institutions, 102 



151 



152 



Charters, 146 

Chief justice, 49, 117 

Chief of police, 126 

Circuit Court of Appeals, 58 

Circuit Court procedure, 90; 
judge, removal of, 117 

Citizens, de facto, 39; how to 
become, 30; naturalized, 
39, 73; of other States pro- 
tected, 61 

Citizenship, definition of, 74 
«tt.; forfeiting, 39; women 
and, 39; races ineligible, 39 

City, the, 6, 7, 83; Attorney, 
128; Clerk, 124 

Civil cases defined, 89 

Civil courts (Milwaukee), 132 

Civil officers, U. S., 17 

Civil power above military, 
108 

Claims, Court of, 58 

Classes, governing, 7 

Clerk of school board, 80 

Cloture, 25 

Coinage of money, 31 

Coins, U. S., 31 

Commander-in-chief, 51, 114 

Commerce, regulation of, 29 

Commission, Interstate, 30; 
tax, 93 

Commission form of govern- 
ment, 84 

Committee, county election, 98 

Committees, Congressional, 
22, 25; Legislative, 86; 
party, 98 

Common Council, 83; Mil- 
waukee, 124 

Common schools, sectarian in- 
struction forbidden, 120; 
communities must support, 
120 

Comptroller (Milwaukee), 126 

Conducting public meetings, 
135 

Confederation, Articles of, 11 

Confiscation of property, 107 



Congress, adjournment of, 19; 
laws made by, 8 ; limita- 
tions of power of, 40; meet- 
ings, 18; members of, ma- 
jority may exclude, two- 
thirds may expel, 19; vot- 
ing, 19; powers of, 12, 29; 
special sessions, 24, 53 

Congressional elections, 17; 
record, 20 n. ; representa- 
tion, reduction of, 76; town- 
ships, 8 

Congressmen, 17 

Conquered subjects, 65 

Constable, 81 

Constitution, abolition of, 
146; Federal, 12; amend- 
ments to, 12, 70; State, how 
amended, 121; revision of, 
122; Wisconsin, 106-123 

Constitutional convention, 11 

Constitutions, written, 146 

Consuls, 51, 58 

Counterfeiting, 32 

Contested election, 54 

Contracts, impairing, prohib- 
ited, 43, 107; to lowest bid- 
der, 112 

Convention, National, 47, 99 

Copyrights, 32 

Corporations, municipal, 121 

County, divisions of, 122; gov- 
ernment uniform, 112; seat, 
change of, 122; the, 81 

Court house, 82 

Courts, circuit, 89; county, 89, 
13 2; probate, 116; police, 
89; supreme, 116 

Criminal rights of, 70, 107; 
trials, when to be held, 107 

Cuba, under U. S. protection, 
66 



Debt, no seizure or imprison- 
ment for, 108; U. S., 35; 
validity of public, 75 



153 



Declaration, of war, 33; of 
Independence, 11; of rights, 
106 

Defense, common, 29; right 
of, or of prosecution, 118 

Delegated powers, 9, 3 5 

Delegates-at-large, 99 

Delegates, contesting, 55; 
state, 47; territorial, 6 5 

Democracy, a, 6 ; and mon- 
archy compared, 6, 7 

Direct legislation, 144 

Director, school, 8 

Direct tax, 29, 38 

District Attorney, 82, 115 

District of Columbia, 35; Dis- 
trict court of, 58 

District schools, 120; may get 
State aid, 100; support, 100 

Districts, Assembly and Sen- 
ate, 110; Congressional, 24 

Division of the House, 20 

Divorce, Legislature may not 
grant, 112 

Drafting, 34 

Duelists, disfranchised, 122 

Duties, 29, 42; ad valorem, 36 

E 

Education, public, 100, 101, 
119; religious and theologi- 
cal, 108 

Election, primary, 98 

Elections, writs of, 111; Con- 
gressional, 17; general, date 
of, 46; Legislative, 113; and 
voting, 97 

Electoral commission, 54 

Electors, denned, 12; Presi- 
dential, 45, 54, 143; quali- 
fied, defined, 109 

Eminent domain, 119 

Empire an, 8 

Equalization, board of, 93 

Excise, 29 

Excluding or expelling, 19 

Executive departments, 51 



Executive, Federal, 11, 45; 

power, 7, 45; session, 53 
Executive, State, see Governor 
Executive, U. S. see President 
Exemption, from jury service, 
90; of property from taxa- 
tion, 95; under income tax, 
state, 93; Federal, 97 
Expenses, state, 92, 94 
Exportation, state, 41 
Ex post facto law, 40, 107 
Expulsion from Legislature, 

110 
Extra session, 53, 114; no ex- 
tra pay for, 112 
Extradition, treaties and, 62 



Federal government, 11; lim- 
itations of, 9, 10; and mon- 
archy compared, 8 ; not dem- 
ocratic, 8 

Feeble minded, school for, 102 

Filibustering, 20, 24 and n. 

Fines, excessive, prohibited, 
71, 107 

Fire department (Milwaukee), 
129 

"Flexible clause," 35 

Florida acquired, 64 

Food control, 77 

Foreigners may not vote, 97 
n. ; and naturalization, 29 

Forts, etc., 33 

Franchise, meaning of, 98 n., 
125 

Franking privilege, 21 

Free government, how main- 
tained, 108 

Free passes, 123; speech, 70, 
106 

Fugitive slave law, 62 



Gadsden purchase, 64 
Gerrymandering, 24 
Gold certificates, 31 



154 



Governor, 88; impeachment 
of, 114; powers of, 114; 
may remove officers, 116 

Government, Federal, powers 
of, 9; of the home, 5; mon- 
archical, 6; municipal, pur- 
pose, 7, 132; republican, 
6 ; republican guaranteed, 
63; smallest unit of, 80; 
town, almost pure democ- 
racy, 81; undemocratic, 148 

"Greenbacks," 31, 39; not 
taxed, 95 

Guam, 65 

H 

Habeas corpus, 40, 41 and n., 

117 
Half-vote, 55 
Harbors, dredging, 30 
Hawaii, annexed, 65 
Hayes, Rutherford B., 54 
Health commissioner, 128 
Hereditary nobility, 7 
High schools, 100 
High seas defined, 34 
Highways, improvement of, 

118 
Home for dependent children, 

102 
House of Representatives, 8, 

12-15; discussions limited, 

25 



Impeachment, 16, 116 
Imposts, 29, 43 
Imprisonment, unjust, 42 
Improvement, taxation on, 96 
Inauguration, time and place, 

49 
Income tax, State, 93; appor- 
tionment, exemptions and 
rates, 93; Federal, 38, 76 
Incompetents, disqualified, 109 
Indian blood, persons of, 109; 



lands, resident on, 122; pop- 
ulation, 38; tribes, 29 
Indirect tax, 29, 36 
Industrial schools, 103 
Initiative, 143, 144 
Injunctions, writs of, 117 
Injuries, remedy for, 107 
Insane, hospitals for the, 102 
Insurance commissioner, 88 
"Insurgents, " 143 
Insurrection, suppression of, 

33 
Interest on bonds, 35 
Interior, Secretary of, 49 
Internal improvements, 118 
Interstate Commerce, 42; com- 
mission, 30 
Immunity of Legislators, 111; 

Congressmen, 21 
Isthmian Canal Commission, 
65 



Jail, 82 

Johnson, Andrew, impeach- 
ment, 17 and n. 

"Joker," what it is, 26 

Journal, proceedings of each 
house, 19; of Legislature, 
111 

Judges, recall of, 145; qualifi- 
cations, 117; term of, 116 

Judicial power, 57; (U. S.), 
defined, 71; limitations of 
the, 58; state, 88 

Judiciary, composition and 
powers, 116; Federal, 11 

Jurisdiction, appellate, 58; 
original, 58, 116 

Jury, exemption from service, 
90; petit, 90; trial by, 71; 
trial by, obligatory, 58; a 
right, 106; grand, 7 

Justices, associate and chief, 
57, 117; of the peace, 81 

Juvenile court (Milwaukee), 
132 



155 



K 



King, 8 



La Follette, R. M. long speech, 
25 n. 

Land, agricultural, lease of, 
107; State sovereignty, and 
property in, 119 

Land values, tendency to shift 
taxes to, 96 

Lands, public, of Texas, 64 n.; 
school, 119 

Laws, special or private for- 
bidden, 113; style of State, 
111; unconstitutional, 38 n. 

Legal department (Milwau- 
kee), 218 

Legal tender, 38 

Legislative power, 11 

Legislators, how elected, 8 

Legislature, composition of, 
109 ; ineligibility to serve in, 
110; journal of, 111; quo- 
rum, 109; meeting, 86 

Libel, evidence of, 106 

License fee, 9 5 

Lieutenant-Governor, 113 

Lighthouses, 30 

Loans, Legislature may make, 
118 

Lotteries, State, prohibited, 
112 

Louisiana, purchase, 64; vot- 
ing qualifications, 13 n. 

M 

Machine voting, 97 
Magna Charta, 146 
Manual training schools, 101 
Marque and reprisal, 33, 43 
Marshal, village, 8 4 
Mayor, Milwaukee, 125 
Meridian, principal, 80 
Metric system, 31 and n. 



Mileage, Legislators, 112; 

Congressmen, 21 
Militia, organized, 33; State, 

112; who constitute the, 34 
Milwaukee, city, 124; county, 

89 
Ministers, appointment, 51 
Monarchy, absolute, 6; lim- 
ited, U. S. Government like, 

7 
Money, paper and coins, 31 
Motto, Wisconsin, 149 
Municipal, corporations, 121; 

court (Milwaukee), 132; 

government, purpose of, 

132 

N 

National conventions, 55, 98 
Naturalization, 39; laws of, 

29; ''wholesale," 39 
Navies and armies, expense, 7 
Navy, support of, 3 3 
Negroes, denied suffrage, 7 6 
New States, admission, 62 
New Zealand, 145 
Nomination papers, 9 9 
Normal schools, 101 
Northwest territory, 23 



Oath of office, President's, 49; 
of Congressmen, 67; in Wis- 
consin, 112 
Officers, few chosen by peo- 
ple, 8 
Ordinance, of (1787), 23, 

100; purpose of, 125 
Oregon, acquisition of, 64 
Original jurisdiction, 8 9 
Overseer of highways, 81 



Panama Canal Zone, 65 

Parcel post, 3 2 

Park commissioners, 131 



156 



Party system in Wisconsin, 98 

Patents, 32 

Penal institutions, 102 

Pensions, U. S., 75 

Personal Liberty Laws, 62 

Petit jury, 90 

Philippine islands, 65 

Piracy, 32, 34 

Platform party, in Wisconsin, 
98 

Plutocracy, a, 7 

"Pocket Veto," 23 

Police and fire commissioners, 
129 

Police department, 129 

Porto Rico, 65 

Postmaster General, 49 

Postoffices, 32 

Post roads, 32 

Powers, Federal delegated, 9 

Preamble, U. S. Constitution, 
12 

President, 8, 22, 45-47; age 
requirement, 48; death, or 
disability, 48; growth of 
popular elections of, 7 ; 
popular vote for, 143; pow- 
ers of the, 51; great power 
of, 7; impeachment of, 52; 
voting for, indirect, 47; and 
vice, how voted for, 45 

Press, freedom of the, 70 

Primary candidates, 99; elec- 
tion, 98; nominations, 143 

Principal meridian, base line, 
64 

Probate court, 116 

"Progressives," 142 

Property, confiscation of pro- 
hibited, 107; exemption 
from, taxation, 95; rights of 
aliens to, 108 

Prosecution, or defense al- 
lowed, 118 

Public, debt commission, 127; 
education, 100; lands in 
early times, 64; library and 



museum, 131; meeting, how 
to run, 135; money and re- 
ligious education, 108; 
works, commissioner of, 127 

Punctuation, importance of, 
27 

Purchases, board of, 131 



Qualifications of Congress- 
men, 13 

Question, main, 136, 140; pre- 
vious, 139, 140 

Quorum, common council, 
124; Congress, 19; Legis- 
lature, 110 



Railroad strike, 66 
Railroads, how taxed, 95 
Recall, 143, 145 
Referendum, 143, 144 
Reformatory institutions, 102 
Register of deeds, 82 
Religious freedom, 70, 108 
Representation, ratio of, 14; 

reduction of, 74 
Representatives "at large," 
25; house of, 12, 13; num- 
ber of, 14; oath of, 67 
Republican government guar- 
anteed, 63 
Requisition, what it is, 62 
Resolutions and bills, 22 
Revenue, U. S., how raised, 2 2 
Revenues, uniform, 29 
Review, board of, 92 
Rights, community, 5 
Rivers, dredging, 30 
Rules of order in Congress, 19 
Salaries of, Associate Justices, 
68; Chief Justice, 68; Cir- 
cuit Judges, 117; Governor 
115; Legislators, 86, 112 
Lieutenant-governor, 115 
Congressmen, 21; Presi 



157 



dent, 41; Senators, 21; 
supervisors, 83; Supreme 
Court Judges, 117; Vice- 
President, 49 



Samoan Islands, 65 

School, for the blind, 102; 
board, secretary of (Mil- 
waukee), 130; County agri- 
cultural, 101; county train- 
ing, 101; directors, board 
of, 129; district, 80, 100; 
for feeble minded, 102; of 
the first class, 100; fund, 
119; industrial, 103; lands, 
119; manual training, 101; 
period of required attend- 
ance at, 100; state normal, 
100; trade, 101; tax, 120 

Schools shall be encouraged, 
24 

Seal, State, 122 

Searches, unwarrantable, for- 
bidden, 70, 107 

Secret sessions of Senate, 52 

Secretary of State, U. S., 49; 
Wisconsin, 8 8, 115 

Sectarian instruction forbid- 
den, 120 

Security of people, 70 

Senate, U. S., 12, 15, 51, 52; 
character of, 24; commit- 
tees 22; cloture, 25; presi- 
dent pro tern, 16; secret ses- 
sions of, 52; number of 
members of Wisconsin, 8 6, 
110 

Senators, U. S., election by 
popular vote, 77; from new 
States, 16; oath of, 67; 
qualifications, 16; term, 77 

Senators, Wisconsin, 109 

Sessions, extra, 114; special, 
24 

Sheriff cannot succeed him- 
self, 115 



Silver certificates, 31 

Slavery prohibited, 73 

Slave trade, 40 

Soldiers in time of peace, 7 

South Dakota, direct legisla- 
tion, 145 

Speaker of House, 15; salary, 
21 

Special privilege, 98 n. 

Speech, freedom of, 7 

Standard pound, 31 

"Standpatters," 143 

State military power, 10 8, 
112; and nation defined, 6; 
officers, nomination of, 98; 
powers of the, 9 ; suits 
against, 112; new admis- 
sion of, 62, 63; powers of, 
inherent, 9, 10 

States, reciprocal relation of, 
61; rights of, 73 

Stout Institute, 101 

Subsidiary motions, 138 

Succession to Presidency, 49 
and n. 

Suffrage, qualifications, 109; 
woman, 97 

Superintendent Public In- 
struction, 88, 119 

Supervisors, 92; board of, 82; 
county, 112; town, 81 

Supreme Court, 57, 59, 89, 
116; appellate jurisdiction 
of, 116; judges, appoint- 
ment of, 51; removal of, 
117; original jurisdiction 
of, 58; assumed power of, 
38 n. 

Survey, government, 64 

Surveyor, county, 82 



Tariff, shifted to consumer, 36 
Tax, apportionment of income, 

94 
Tax commission, 94 



158 



Tax commissioner, 84, 127; 
exemption under income, 
93; license, 95; school, 120; 
tariff, how shifted, 36 

Taxation, aristocracy and, 7; 
property exemption and, 95; 
rules of, 118 

Taxes, direct, 29; how raised, 
92; indirect, 29; land val- 
ues, 96; reason for, 92; 
Federal, 29 

Tellers, counting by, 20 

Texas, annexed, 63; public 
lands of, 64 n. 

Tilden, Samuel J., 54 

Titles of nobility, 42, 43 

Town, the, 6, 7, 80; govern- 
ment, 112; officers, 81 

Townships, 64, 80 

Trade schools, 101 

Training schools, county, 101 

Treason, against U. S., de- 
fined, 59; against Wiscon- 
sin not pardonable, 114; of 
John Brown, 59 

Treasurer, city, 126; State, 88, 
115 

Treasury, Secretary of, U. S., 
49; withdrawals from, 42 

Treaties, extradition and, 61, 
62; how made, 51 

Trial by jury, 106 

Troops, how raised, 34 

Trustees, village, 83 

Two-thirds voted, 22, 51, 66, 
75, 76, 86 



u 

Unconstitutional, laws de- 
clared, 38 n. 

University, State, 101; fund, 
12 0; lands, 119; no sec- 
tarian instruction in, 120 



Vacancies, 14; how filled, 114 
Veterans' home, 103 
Veto, 22, 86, 115, 127 
Vice-President, 8, 16, 46, 48 
Village, the, 6, 7, 83 
Viva voce vote, 20, 113, 136 
Voters and citizenship, 39, 109 
Voting, ballot, 109; by ma- 
chine, 20 and n., 97; quali- 
fications, 148, 149 

w 

War, declaration of, 33, 34, 43 

War powers, 77 

Warrant, ground for issue) 70 

Water department, 127 

Weights and measures, 31 

West Virginia, admission, 63 

White House, 49 

Woman Suffrage, 24 and n., 

97, 149 
Women and citizenship, 39 



Yea and nay, 19, 20, 111, 115, 
118, 136 



